A former doctor from Syria has been jailed for 40 months for possessing a hoard of explosive ingredients, and instructions on how to prepare bombs, in two North Edinburgh flats.
Last month Faris al-Khori, who is 62, admitted a breach of the 1883 Explosives Substances Act and pled guilty to possessing the explosives at flats at Fidra Court and Persevere Court between 27 December 2007 and 27 April last year.
Passing sentence at Edinburgh’s High Court this morning, Judge Lady Wolffe told al-Khori: “The number and nature of the explosive substances and the places you chose to store them lead me to conclude there is no alternative to a custodial sentence. The sentence is one of five years but in light of your early plea I reduce it to 40 months. It will be backdated and I shall also impose a supervised release order for a period of 12 months.”
Firefighters discovered the potentially lethal ingredients when they were called to tackle a fire in a rubbish chute in Fidra Court. Fire crews forced entry to flats in the high-rise block to check no-one was inside, but when they entered al-Khori’s property they found items that gave cause for concern. The building was evacuated and the find sparked off a further search of a property in Leith’s Persevere Court, where more explosive materials were found.
Despite a subsequent in-depth investigation, police have been unable find any evidence that al-Khori was connected to any terrorist organisation and his reason for stockpiling the explosive components remains a mystery .
