- Duo were involved in the aid convoys from Britain to the Middle East in 2013
- Money was sent with the aid which Alan Henning accompanied to Syria
- Pair sent money to ISIS fighter who wanted to become a sniper for terror group
Two extremists were today found guilty of sending cash to a terrorist in Syria on the aid convoy taking Alan Henning to his death at the hands of ISIS.
Former probation officer Syed Hoque, 37, sent £4,500 to nephew Mohammed Choudhury, 26, to buy an elite Dragunov sniper rifle.
He and gas engineer Mashoud Miah, 27, also hoped to set up a 'night team' of terrorist marksmen in the war-torn country after infiltrating the deliveries of food and medicine by Islamic charities.
The first £3,000 was delivered on a Children in Deen convoy in July 2013 and another £1,500 was sent on the same convoy as Alan Henning.
Aid worker Alan Henning was taken to Syria on a convoy used by extremists, a court heard
Syed Hoque (left) and Mashoud Miah (right) face jail terms when they return for sentencing
Mr Henning, who had joined the Al-Fatiha Global convoy taking aid to Syrian refugees, was kidnapped soon after he crossed the border in December 2013.
The English taxi driver was kept hostage until he was beheaded by ISIS executioner Jihadi John on video in October 2014.
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Father-of-four Hoque was convicted of two counts of entering into a terror funding arrangement, while Miah was found guilty of one charge by a majority of 11 to one.
Businessman Pervez Rafiq, 46, who had previously been interviewed by the BBC while driving an ambulance to Syria, told police he had been on the same convoy as Mr Henning and had taken part in an appeal for his safe return.
Hoque has been found guilty of sending money to his nephew in Syria to buy a gun
Prosecutors claimed he was the 'fixer' in a plan to send cash and equipment to Choudhury, who was then fighting with Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra.
But Rafiq, who claimed to have been offered £30,000 to act as an informant for MI5, along with Mohammed Hussain, 30, were acquitted of funding terrorism.
Choudhury is still thought to be in Syria, but detectives said they were not aware what he has been doing for the last two years. He left the UK for Cairo in September 2012 and did not return.
The court heard in July 2013 Hoque, Miah and Rafiq travelled on the Children in Deen Convoy which was stopped and searched at Dover. Miah did not return to the UK until May 2014.
Rafiq also went on the Al Fatiha convoy to Turkey in October 2013 before joining the same charity's convoy with Alan Henning on 21 December 2013.
Each denied the plot to fund terrorists, which was only uncovered when Hoque and his wife Nazia Khanom were stopped at Heathrow Airport on their return from Bangladesh on 5 August 2014.
Analysis of the contents of their phones later revealed Whatsapp chats to Hoque's nephew Choudhury discussing the purchase of a Dragunov sniper rifle, AK-47 and a nightscope.
Police found mobile phone exchanges between Hoque and his nephew, who is still thought to be in Syria
Choudhury wrote in February 2014: 'I will like to cut their heads... wrap their heads on my car and drag it along... it boils my blood when I see their faces. They are pigs.'
In his reply Hoque advised his nephew 'not mutilating, just beheading... and hate them for Allah's sake.'
Choudhury replied: 'All kuffar fighters must be killed whether male or female, we act upon Sharia emotions.'
He later told his uncle he had decided not to get married to a 16-year-old Syrian girl because he wanted to be a martyr instead.
A search of Hussain's home uncovered a notebook referring to £3,000 and a to-do list mentioning a satellite phone, SatNav, iPad, laptop and Kestrel range finder to help a shooter fire more accurately.
The group claimed they believed Choudhury was involved in humanitarian aid work and defending civilians from the Syrian military forces.
Pictures sent between Choudhury to Hoque include one of a fighter with a Kalashnikov
A photo of a Draganov sniper's rifle was also sent between the men. Prosecutors say they were attempting to help terrorists become 'night snipers'
Hoque said: 'He was part of military defence. Fighting in defence of those that could not defend themselves against Assad's regime.'
Miah admitted an idea to arm a team of snipers in Syria, but claimed it would be used to defend civilians from President Assad's forces.
Prosecutor Annabel Darlow QC told the Old Bailey: 'The defendants made use, or so it would appear, of aid convoys as a means of moving money and other property out of the United Kingdom to Syria.
'The prosecution do not suggest that the aid convoys themselves did not have an overall charitable purpose, or that those participating did not intend by the provision of food and medicine to help the civilian population suffering in Syria.
'However, the convoys would have provided a useful conduit for these defendants to abuse the spirit of the convoys to convey money and property to terrorists.'
The court heard the convoys Mr Henning was part of were charitable, but had been infiltrated
Miss Darlow added: 'This was not about helping orphans in Syria... this is about arms.'
Hoque, of Luton, denied three counts of entering into an arrangement to supply money or property to terrorists.
Miah, of Limehouse, east London, Hussain, of Limehouse, and Rafiq, of Basil Street, Huddersfield, all denied one count of entering into an arrangement to supply money or property to terrorists.
Judge Bevan is expected to adjourn sentencing Hoque and Miah until a date to be fixed in the New Year.
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