'Satanism terrorist' jailed after being stopped at Stansted Airport

A man has been jailed for terrorism offences after being stopped at Stansted Airport last year. As a result of the investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), Declan George-Candiani, 26, of Streatham, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to 23 months' imprisonment on Friday (November 28).

The judge ordered that he serve an additional year on licence, and he will also be subject to notification requirements for 10 years. George-Candiani was stopped at Stansted Airport by Counter Terrorism officers on August 13, 2024. During the stop, the contents of his phone were analysed, and as a result, he was arrested, and a search of his home was carried out, in which an iPad was seized. Detectives found terrorist-related documents on the devices, including guides on how to commit ‘lone wolf’ attacks.

George-Candiani told officers that he started to access the material after he developed an interest in an extreme-right-wing group advocating “traditional Satanism”. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “This is another example of why ‘schedule 7’ powers at our ports and borders are so important in helping us to identify potential terrorist activity.

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“In this case, analysis of digital devices revealed downloads of horrific material promoted by extreme right-wing terrorist groups, as well as extremely dangerous material about carrying out attacks and other acts of extreme violence."

In police interview, George-Candiani claimed he had a “possessed mindset” and said he had made a “pact with the devil” to be a “minion”. He also claimed to officers that he had developed an “unhealthy obsession” with the ideology and that it had “overpowered” him in a way he “couldn’t control.”

However, it was the prosecution case that George-Candiani had an interest in extreme right-wing ideology and he intentionally accessed and downloaded extreme right-wing material. Following a trial at the Old Bailey, he was convicted on October 3 of two counts of collection of material likely to be of use to a terrorist under 58(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000. The jury found him not guilty of two further counts of the same offence and he was sentenced as above.