British teen guilty of 'dark web' bomb plot

ISTANBUL

A British teenager has been found guilty of trying to buy explosives over the "dark web" to build a car bomb.

Nineteen-year-old Gurtej Randhawa, from Wolverhampton, England, was arrested by armed police from the National Crime Agency (NCA) in May.

Randhawa had received a package in the mail that he believed contained explosives but he had been sent a dummy parcel instead after police uncovered his plans.

Police watched the teenager testing the fake device and moved in.

Although not linked to terrorism, Randhawa’s actions were described as having “the potential to cause serious damage and kill many people if he had been successful in using it,” according to Tim Gregory from the NCA’s Armed Operations Unit.

The dark web is a series of secret, encrypted websites and networks that cannot be accessed through search engines.

Randhawa previously pleaded guilty to attempting to import explosives. He was found guilty of maliciously possessing an explosive substance with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday.

He has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2018.