Agents lured Alfie Coleman, 22, to a car park in east London and swooped on him as he collected a Makarov pistol and two hundred rounds of ammunition in September 2023. The supermarket worker, from Great Notley in Essex, was described in court as a "militant accelerationist" who had been radicalized online from the age of 14. He was convicted of preparing terrorist acts at the Old Bailey in April, where jurors heard he had dreamed of fighting a race war. Judge Richard Marks KC described Coleman's views as "virulently racist" and branded him a "dangerous offender". Coleman appeared tearful and wiped his eyes with a tissue as the judge made his remarks. The sting operation involved undercover agents engaging with him on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where he was seeking to buy a firearm. Jurors at the trial saw dramatic footage of Coleman dropping £3,500 in a Land Rover and picking up a hold-all containing the handgun and ammunition from the boot in a Morrisons car park in Stratford on 23 September 2023. Moments later, Coleman was confronted by armed counter-terrorism police and lay on the ground. Investigators later found a "manifesto" in his diary, where potential targets for an attack included the Lord Mayor of London and a mosque. Prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer KC said that two days before Coleman was due to pick up the Makarov, he wrote: "Something has gotta be done, how long can we sit here and talk over the internet?" (BBC)