- Mohammed Uddin jailed for seven years for going to Syria to fight with ISIS
- He travelled to Syria on November 4 2014, but quickly became disillusioned
- So crossed border back to Turkey on December 12, where he was detained
- On return to UK on December 22 was stopped by counter terrorism officers
- For more of the latest Islamic State news visit www.dailymail.co.uk/isis
Mohammed Uddin (pictured), 29, a security guard from Barking, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge of preparing acts of terrorism
A British man who travelled to Syria to join ISIS but returned home because he disliked the 'cold water', 'bland food' and 'doing absolutely jack' has been jailed for seven years.
Mohammed Uddin, 29, a security guard from Barking in Essex, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge of preparing acts of terrorism.
The court heard how Uddin - who referred to himself as 'Supaman' - travelled to the war-torn region on November 4 intending to join ISIS and fighting for them.
On December 12, he crossed the border back into Turkey where he was held by the authorities because he did not have any travel documents.
He was stopped by counter terrorism officers at Gatwick Airport when he returned to Britain on December 22, who believed he was involved in terrorist-related activity and found extremist material in his possession.
Uddin, who had earlier boasted it was 'p*** easy' to cross the border from Turkey into Syria, quickly became disillusioned with life in the Middle East.
He was in touch with a friend in Britain who had been ready to join him when police raided his home in Bedford.
Less than two weeks after he left Britain, Uddin messaged his friend saying: 'Lol bro, it's soo easy to get in man, especially during the day, alhamdulillah, we walked in, no running bro. Don't worry inshallah, don't stress about getting in here. It's p*** easy [sic]'.
He went on: 'When u cross over, the mens maqqa [residence] is shared and tough man, especially with this weather. I wud recommend good trainers u can wear/take off [sic].
'Keep your thermals close buy too. Trust me, u will be thankful. I suggest u prepare urself by using cold water for everything too and be ready for stinky shared toilets, not clean lol [laughs out loud].
'U need to get used to the cold water and no electricity. Everyday use cold water, u will probably get your first shower when u get to your mudhafa [annex]. The house u stay in before the muaskar [training camp]. It's tough bro lol, A LOT of patience is required [sic].
'Start eating small amounts of food to get used to it, because u will be sharing your food as soon as u arrive. Bland food btw lol, inshallah it will be better when u get to mudhafa.
Also u need to decide where u wana get placed. Alhamdulillah. I chose Halab [Aleppo]. We're placed in Menbej, small town, no action, just normal life alhamdulillah [sic].
The wannabe terrorist also complained how he could not get to the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa as there was 'high demand and not enough places'.
He added: 'If ur planning on going to Raqqa as a singleton FORGET it [sic]'.
In response to that, his friend inquired as to where the best place to go was, adding: 'Esp where I can get istishadi [martyrdom] quick time…Wallah [I swear], it's my dream [sic].'
By this time, Uddin had grown disillusioned with life in Syria and told him: 'I wanna get out of here now. I've had enuff. Lol, this isn't the jihad or system we thought we'd like to see [sic].'
On November 19, the man asked Uddin: 'So wat u up 2 in Sham? Just munchin, toileting and sleeping, lol?'
To that, Uddin complained they had taken his passport and 'electricals' from him until he passed training.
On November 26, he wrote: 'I've been here 20 days doing absolutely jack [nothing].'
When his friend tried to reassure him, he sent a message a week later saying: 'Still going round in circles. Had a fat argument with some planks 2 days ago. Bro trust me, here is not how u think it is. Inshallah you will see for yourself so called mujahideen [sic].'
He did, though, boast of having fired a machine gun at two different rebel groups while on the 'ribbath' (front lines).
Uddin left Britain on November 4 and entered Syria through Turkey three days later.
He had worked as a security guard at a company based in Knightsbridge.
He lived in Ilford with his parents and family and was separated from his wife, who was pregnant with their child when he left for Syria.
On December 3, he messaged her saying he was considering running away from ISIS.
On December 12, Uddin was detained by the Turkish police close to the Syrian border without a passport.
He claimed he was staying at hotels in Istanbul until December 8, when he realised he had lost his passport and was told to go to the British Embassy in Ankara.
He said he had caught a bus to Ankara with his Norwegian girlfriend but they had both fallen asleep, waking in the early hours of the morning in Gazientep, near the Syrian border.
Pleading guilty at Woolwich Crown Court, Uddin accepted the account he gave was false and he had in fact travelled to Syria, where he was required to hand over his passport.
He pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism by attempting to travel to Syria under section 5(1) of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Annabel Darlow QC, prosecuting, said: 'Within a relatively short period after his arrival in Syria, he expressed discontentment regarding the slowness of progress in reaching a training camp and disillusionment with the prevailing system in Syria.
'The defendant also experienced pressure to return to the United Kingdom, where his wife awaited the birth of their child.
'His plans to return to the United Kingdom may have been slowed by the fact that his passport had been confiscated from him.
'Whilst the defendant chose to return to the United Kingdom, some of his messages indicate an intention to return at some future point to Syria.'
Assistant Chief Constable Laura Nicholson, the head of counter-terrorism across the South East, said: 'Uddin's purpose of travel was to join Daesh and engage in terrorist activity.
'Anyone intending to travel to Syria or Iraq to fight or to commit terrorist acts against the UK or our interests should be in no doubt that the police will take the strongest possible action against them.
'Returning foreign fighters pose a threat to the UK and we also have a responsibility to protect UK interests around the world.
'Preventing travel to Syria is a key part of keeping the British public safe whether they are at home and overseas.
Sue Hemming, Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism at the CPS, said: 'Mohammed Uddin left the UK to travel to Syria intending to join Daesh (ISIS) and take part in acts of terrorism.
'It was very clear from the conversations recovered from electrical devices that Uddin had meticulously planned his trip so that he would be able to get to Syria undetected.
'Online searches had been carried out relating to 'Islamic state fighting', which strongly implied a more sinister purpose to his trip - rather than a holiday as he had previously claimed.'
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