Anti-terror police find two goats at home of suspect
TWO goats were taken away from the home of a terror suspect during a police raid.
The animals could be heard squealing as they were removed by police, neighbours said.
A 20-year-old man has now been arrested on suspicion of preparing for acts of terror.
Police officers and Army bomb disposal experts descended on the suburban end-of-terrace house in Coventry. Several homes were evacuated and the road was cordoned off while the property was searched over several days.
The man was initially detained under the Explosives Act before being released while the investigation continued. Yesterday, he was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terror. He remained in custody last night.
Detectives said it followed the examination of ‘electronic items’ and documents seized from the home.
Neighbours said a mother and her grown-up son lived at the property. One said he had autism and had recently converted to Islam.
A woman living nearby, who did not want to be named, said: ‘They had goats, frogs, spiders and rats. They were lovely, nice, normal. They were always together mother and son. The animals were cared for.’ Another woman, who lives across the street, said: ‘We heard this screeching, screaming noise – we thought it was a girl. Then we saw a policeman or the RSPCA carrying a goat out very carefully.’
During the police search of the home on Tuesday, April 24, a BBC reporter accused officers of carrying out a controlled explosion on a field nearby as a diversionary tactic to hide the removal of one of the goats. BBC Midlands Today reporter Joan Cummins told viewers: ‘ A few moments ago there was a controlled detonation on scrap land behind the house.
‘We now understand that this was a diversion to move our cameras away from the area while the police and Army remove what we understand was a goat from the house in question.’
West Midlands Police denied the claims, saying that it was not a diversionary tactic.
Yesterday, Chief Superintendent Mike O’Hara, of Coventry Police, said: ‘This is a complex inquiry that remains subject of a thorough investigation.
‘The searches and evacuations were essential for police officers and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit to enable them to conduct their work and keep local people safe.’