Mason Moore | Hinckley Reporter | 22 October 2023
A PRISONER who made hoax bomb threats to a Leicestershire hospital while locked up behind bars has been sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment.
Mohammed Mahboobshah, 28, was in prison having pleaded guilty to making online postings encouraging acts of terrorism when he made two calls to Glenfield Hospital, near Glenfield on the outskirts of Leicester, on Monday, 4 October 2021.
In the hoax calls, Mahboobshah made threats of a bomb, and stated that the hospital ‘needed to be evacuated’.
Leicestershire Police were subsequently notified, and the call was able to be linked back to the prison, where Mahboobshah was a prisoner.
Mahboobshah, formerly of Evington Valley Road, Leicester, was suspected of being responsible.
Following examination of phone records, it was confirmed he had made two calls – at 9.41am and again at 10.12am. The content of the call was also able to be confirmed.
Mahboobshah was produced from prison and arrested in February 2022.
Following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTPEM), he was charged with making a hoax bomb threat.
He was found guilty of the offence following a trial at Leicester Crown Court, which was held in July, and sentenced on Friday (20 October) at Warwick Crown Court.
Mahboobshah had previously been sentenced on 22 October 2021 to two years and eight months imprisonment after pleading guilty on 30 September 2021 to encouragement of terrorism.
This followed an investigation by CTPEM in which Mahboobshah was found to have made online posts between 8 October and 5 November 2020 which were deemed to be encouragement or inducement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
At the time, he was also made subject of a 10-year notification requirement – which means he will have to inform the authorities of certain personal information. Breach of this is an offence, which can result in imprisonment.
The sentence issued today will be served consecutively to the sentenced issued in October 2021.
Detective Sergeant Frank Fraser, from CTPEM, said: “Mahboobshah was already in prison having pleaded guilty to encouraging others to engage in terrorist activity when he made these threatening phone calls from prison.
“The phone calls will understandably have caused distress and disruption for staff at the hospital while they were trying to provide the best possible care for patients and could ultimately have put lives at risk.
“But thanks to the instant, calm actions of hospital staff and prison staff as well as the investigating team and officers from Leicestershire Police who dealt with the initial report, we were able to quickly identify Mahboobshah as the person responsible and to quickly bring an end to the incident, including avoiding evacuation of the premises.
“We will ensure that we continue to deal robustly with any offending of this nature and that we continue to bring those responsible for this offending before the courts.”
In a statement, a Leicestershire Police spokesperson reminded residents: “If you see or hear anything which you suspect is connected to terrorism, you should trust your instincts and ACT by reporting in confidence at gov.uk/ACT. Always call 999 in an emergency.”