Terrorist rapper used secret emoji code for suicide bomb plot
A terrorist rapper adopted the cupcake emoji as a secret symbol for bombs when plotting to blow himself up in a planned martyrdom, a court has heard.
Al-Arfat Hassan, 21, also known by the stage name Official TS, was sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison after he was found guilty of one terror offence, while he admitted another.
Hassan bought explosives and told followers he was going to carry out an attack after his lyrics showed a growing interest in extreme violence, the Old Bailey heard.
He is said to have exchanged messages with a 17-year-old from Leeds who was a fan of his music and social media posts.
The pair became friends online and both became radicalised, with messages between them showing they used “cupcakes” and cupcake emojis as code for bombs and explosives.
Hassan admitted possession of acetone and hydrogen peroxide for the purposes of terrorism between Jan 12 and March 4 2022.
He denied, but was convicted of, possession of a video called You Must Fight Them. The video included instructions for planning a terror attack, how to kill people with knives and how to make explosives by using acetone and hydrogen peroxide to make acetone peroxide or TATP, using lightbulbs as a detonator.
The 17-year-old admitted possession of the video and failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism by failing to tell police about Hassan.
Hassan left school in Enfield, north London, in 2021 and in his final term teachers had noticed signs he was becoming radicalised.
Prosecutor Simon Denison, KC, said: “Hasan’s lyrics showed growing immersion in Islamist ideology and extreme violence perpetrated by terrorist groups. His music and his social media posts led to him becoming engaged in text conversations with young fans.
“He consistently expressed support for violent jihad and repeatedly spoke of his desire to die as a martyr in a terrorist attack. He described himself as explosively violent, an extremist and a terrorist. He would threaten carnage by blowing himself up in a public place.
“He appeared to become increasingly obsessed with the idea of dying as a martyr by killing himself and others by carrying out a suicide bombing.”
On Feb 16 2022 Hassan contacted the 17-year-old, suggesting he was about to undertake a suicide bombing.
The teenager attempted to persuade him not to go ahead and asked his mother to buy him a train ticket to London but did not tell police.
Hassan later recorded a video of himself dressed all in black with a knife, saying “need to go out looking good though, final moment, life took a very great turn”, before showing the camera the two chemicals.
Hassan was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Feb 27 2022 as he was about to board a flight to Bangladesh.
After reading about the arrest on the news, the 17-year-old deleted messages between them, and 140 extremist videos, before he was arrested at his home on March 12 2022.
Abdul Iqbal, KC, representing the 17-year-old, said: “He had, when he committed these offences, recently turned 15 years of age, and he has no previous criminal record at all.
“This is gruesome material being possessed by a child as a result of his interest in and research of Islamist movements and ideology including serious and fatal violence being depicted.”
He said the teenager had been assessed as suffering from depression, anxiety and possible autism. He was sentenced to two and a half years in a young offenders institution, with an extended licence period of one year.
