Cops take college dinner woman’s youngsters away after horror discovery at her house

Dinner lady Farishta Jami, 36, was arrested after the authorities became concerned for the safety of her children – as she was today convicted on terrorism charges

Police officers have taken a school dinner lady’s children from her after making a terrifying discovery at her home. Farishta Jami, from Stratford-upon-Avon, planned to use £1,200 in cash savings to buy one-way flights to Afghanistan for her and her children.

Warwickshire Police swooped in when they uncovered the 36-year-old’s plot to “martyr herself” and her kids. Officers told Leicester Crown Court how she had also researched weaponry and gathered information relating to the assembly and disassembly of an AK-47 rifle.

She also had around 7,000 videos stored, several of which showed children being used as suicide bombers. On Thursday, Jami was convicted at Leicester Crown Court on charges brought under section 5 of the 2006 Terrorism Act.

The court was told the mum had planned on travelling to the Middle East to join the affiliate of the so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan, Isis-K. Jami had shared graphic and violent extremist material on social media, including videos, documents and images as well as participating in multiple group chats and channels supporting the terrorists, reports Mirror.

Detectives searching her home seized several devices, sim cards in a bag stuffed down the side of her bed as well as cash hidden away. They also found Jami was trying to conceal passports.

Head of specialist operations for Warwickshire Police, Superintendent Darren Webster, said: “This was a complex case interlinking terrorism and serious criminal offences, and we welcome the outcome today.

“Jami’s actions had the potential for real-world implications and the harm they could have caused cannot be underestimated. Thankfully, with excellent partnership working between West Midlands Counter Terrorism Police and ourselves, we were able to prevent this.”

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands Detective Chief Superintendent Alison Hurst added: “Jami expressed a desire to travel as early as July 2023 and by November she had accumulated a significant amount of cash which crystallised her intention to travel.

“In a two-week period at the end of October/early November, she carried out 22 separate searches of flights to Afghanistan.

“It is notable a significant number of the searches were for one-way tickets for herself and her children. We welcome today’s verdict, Jami was determined to travel to join ISIS, despite claiming she was planning to visit family but we found no evidence of any contact with her family to arrange a visit to see them in Afghanistan or Pakistan.”

Jami is due to be sentenced today.

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