GUILTY JUICE BOTTLE BOMBERS WHO TRIED TO KILL 1000S ; Pounds 50million Police Operation Snares Jet Attack Plotters
By Jon Clements | September 8, 2009 [some spaces added for clarity]
THREE British Muslims were yesterday convicted of plotting to blow up trans-Atlantic jets - after American spies finally handed over key evidence.
The gang - who hoped to kill thousands by detonating liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks in mid-air - were nailed by damning new emails.
Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Tanvir Hussain, 28 and Assad Sarwar, 29, were found guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions on aircraft after a six-month trial.
They were foiled in August 2006 by a massive pounds 50million police and MI5 operation in Britain and Pakistan.
If the plot had succeeded, the explosions could have exceeded the carnage of the September 11 attacks.
Their arrests sparked tight restrictions on carrying liquids on to aircraft and caused travel chaos.
A jury last year failed to reach verdicts, forcing a pounds 5million re-trial after US intelligence chiefs undermined the prosecution.
The National Security Agency intercepted Yahoo! messages between ringleader Ali and his al-Qaeda commander, based in Pakistan, known as"Paps".
It can now be revealed that Paps was British-born Rashid Rauf, who was arrested at the same time, but escaped in December 2006.
The NSA shared the emails, referring to explosives as "aftershave" and police surveillance as "a skin problem", with Scotland Yard.
But they would not let them be used as evidence in court as they hoped Rauf would reveal his location by accessing the Yahoo! account.
The move weakened the first prosecution so much that last September, Ali, Sarwar and Hussain were convicted only of conspiracy to murder.
One defendant, Mohammed Gulzar, was cleared completely. But he now faces new charges because the emails implicate him.
Crucial
Two months after the first trial ended, Rauf - allegedly al- Qaeda's director of European operations - was killed in northern Pakistan.
A CIA unmanned Predator aircraft dropped a missile on the hut where the 28-year-old from Birmingham was hiding.
Less than two months later, Scotland Yard were told they could use the crucial emails in the re-trial at Woolwich Crown Court.
A further obstacle was the British courts' ban on intercept evidence. But in February, the emails were obtained from Yahoo! directly.
A court in California ordered the internet firm hand over specific files and they became admissible.
Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service have refused to discuss the emails' sudden appearance in the second prosecution.
But a senior counter terrorism source said: "The Americans simply refused to let us use the emails until they had dealt with Rauf. Their view was 'it's our intelligence, we own it and we will decide how it is used, however much you want it'.
"It was very frustrating but the NSA do lots of work for us. They are vital to Britain's security and their priority was finding Rauf.
"Once they had done that, the email accounts had no other value and we were able to put them into court."
British-born Ali was inspired by the July 7 bombers and Osama bin Laden, and considered taking his baby son on his suicide mission.
Smuggle
He planned to smuggle homemade bombs disguised as soft drinks on to United Airlines, American Airlines and Air Canada jets.
The hydrogen peroxide devices would have been assembled and detonated in mid-air by a team of suicide bombers.
Ali singled out seven flights to San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, Washington, New York and Chicago that departed within two- and-a-half hours of each other. Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic would have been left powerless to stop the destruction once the first bomb exploded.
Police said the plot was drawn up in Pakistan with detailed instructions passed to Ali during frequent trips to its lawless border with Afghanistan.
They believe a mystery al-Qaeda bomb-maker was responsible for the ingenious liquid bomb design, concealed within 500ml Oasis or Lucozade bottles.
But when Rauf was detained, the UK investigation was at a "critical point" and anti-terrorist officers decided "in minutes" to arrest the suspects. They feared they would lose key evidence or suffer a last-ditch attack.
Calculated
The plotters were caught red-handed with the hydrogen peroxide explosives, detonators and martyrdom videos.
Sue Hemming, of the Crown Prosecution Service Counter Terrorism Division, said yesterday: "This was a calculated and sophisticated plot to create a terrorist event of global proportions and the jury concluded that Ali, Sarwar and Hussain knew what thetarget was."
Home Secretary Alan Johnson added: "I'm pleased the jury recognised there was a plot to bomb transatlantic flights and three people have been convicted.
"This case reaffirms that we face a real threat from terrorism. This was a complex and daring plot which would have led to a terrible attack.
"This was the largest ever counter-terrorism operation in the UK and I cannot thank enough those involved for their professionalism and dedication in thwarting this attack and saving thousands of lives."
Another defendant, Umar Islam, 31, was convicted of conspiracy to murder but jurors were unable to reach a verdict on conspiracy to blow up aircraft, Three other defendants, Ibrahim Savant, 28, Arafat Waheed Khan, 28, Waheed Zaman, 25, were cleared of conspiracy to blow up aircraft.
No verdict was reached against the trio on charges of conspiracy to murder but they have admitted planning to cause a public nuisance.
The jury deliberated for 54 hours and were the third to hear the re-trial after two earlier panels were discharged.
Mr Justice Henriques urged them to attend sentencing on Monday.
Ali and Hussain, of east London, and Sarwar, of High Wycombe, face life sentences.
TANVIR HUSSAIN
ALI'S right-hand man, Hussain spent hours adapting and experimenting with soft drinks bottles.
In 2005 he reinvented himself as a devout Muslim after entering into an arranged marriage.
In his suicide video, Hussain said he wanted to kill others until people realise they "don't mess with the Muslims".
ABDULLA AHMED ALI
BORN in London, Ali lived in Pakistan until he was seven and went to school with co-defendants Ibrahim Savant and Arafat Khan.
In 2002 he travelled to the Pakistan-Afghan border to help refugees.
In 2005 he was in telephone contact with the leader of the 21/7 failed suicide bombers and made a third trip in 2006.
ASSAD SARWAR
THE university drop-out from High Wycombe was a skilled chemist.
He correctly followed formulas for making hydrogen peroxide explosives and researched the security of every UK power station and oil refinery.
Sarwar trained to make explosives when he went to Pakistan, where he and co-defendant Umar Islam met Ali.
CHAOS ACROSS COUNTRY
THE terror plot caused chaos at airports across the UK - with thousands of holiday makers left stranded at Scotland's main terminals. More than 400,000 passengers were stranded as the terror alert grounded flights on August 10 2006.
Massive security operations were launched at all Scotland's airports.
At Glasgow, 25 flights were cancelled. But many passengers found the increased police presence reassuring and few were worried by the terror threat.
Every passenger had their documents inspected before being allowed into the check-in area.
AtPrestwick, the picture was the same with early morning flights to Shannon in Ireland, Torp in Norway and London's Stansted all cancelled and a further 10 delayed.
Thousands of holidaymakers queued for hours at check-in and many were forced to make alternative arrangements at hotels or simply go home.
At Edinburgh, 30 flights, mainly to London, were cancelled and there was an average two-hour delay for flights.
Aberdeen was also caught up in the chaos with 18 flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick cancelled.
The airport normally handles 12,000 passengers a day on 200 flights. At Heathrow, the queues from Terminal One stretched all the way to Terminal Three.
(c) 2009 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
