Police officer arrested over terrorist kidnap hoax

Three men, including a serving police officer, have been arrested in the Midlands over a fake terrorist kidnap plot that sparked a major security alert.

The plot was revealed in December 2014 after an anonymous informant led West Midlands Police to call a “severe” security alert, warn officers not to commute to work in uniform and prepare police stations for potential attack.

“The arrests follow an investigation into false and malicious information given to West Midlands Police on the 8th December 2014 which stated that an officer was going to be kidnapped as part of a terrorist plot,” a spokesman for the force told the International Business Times.

“At a time when the national threat level was severe, the threat was considered credible and police acted swiftly to protect officers and police staff.”

“A subsequent investigation revealed that the call was false and malicious,” he added.

Besides the serving police officer, two other men were arrested in connection with the hoax in which a 31-year-old was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill police officers. The individual was later eliminated from enquiries.

The police officer was from Birmingham West and Central Local Policing Unit was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and misuse of police systems. The other men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.

READ MORE: Hoax ‘ISIS jihadist’ jailed for spate of Newcastle bomb threats

In May, prank phone calls to police in Newcastle upon Tyne landed a man in prison after he called in a series of bomb threats and pretended to be a supporter of Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Colin Gibson, 26, made four late night phone calls to police claiming there were bombs planted at Newcastle Central Station.

Gibson claimed his name was William Robson and that he was a member of Islamic State. He told police that Colin Gibson had planted a number of bombs.