A BLACKWOOD man arrested under the prevention of terrorism act admitted making explosives.

Donatien Chamchawala, 30, of Chepstow Close, admitted to two charges of making the explosive substance Hexamethylene Triperoxide Diamine (HMTD) between December 1 2008 and April 5 2009 at Cardiff Crown Court.

HMTD is a highly explosive chemical compound which was used as a primary explosive in mining applications and has also been used in a large number of suicide bombings and was thought to be used in the London bombings in July which killed 52 people and injured more than 770.

Chamchawala did not enter a plea for a charge of making an explosive substance of potassium chlorate and a hydrocarbon or for a charge of possessing a prohibited firearm.

It is alleged he was in possession of a .380 blank calibre Bruni Olympic model on April 4 this year.

Pleas were not entered after Chamchawala originally pleaded not guilty to the charges but this was not accepted by the prosecution.

It will now be decided at a later hearing whether these charges are legitimate and whether Chamchawala will have to enter a plea.

The Argus reported earlier this year how police had raided Chamchawala’s rented house in Chepstow Close, Grove Park, Blackwood on April 4 when 12 grammes of HMTD was found in his kitchen cupboard and HMTD crystals were also found in filter paper.

Around 18 police dog handlers using four sniffer dogs swarmed across farmland surrounding the estate while plain-clothes officers carried out door-to-door inquiries along Chepstow Close and Beaumaris Way.

At the time of the incident neighbours said a young girl had kicked a ball into Chamchawala’s garden and heard a bang prompting her family to call the police.

Residents also said there were wires across the garden.

Mr Justice Roderick Evans remanded Chamchawala in custody until the hearing later this year.