Airline plot accused 'had codes'

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Documents containing coded phrases were found in a house connected to Umar Islam, a defendant in the airliner bomb plot trial, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

The papers held tables with codes for places such as the American and British embassies and the intelligence services, the jury was told.

Eight men are accused of planning to detonate home-made bombs, disguised as soft drinks, on several flights.

All deny conspiring to murder and endangering planes in August 2006.

The documents were found when police searched a house on Bushey Road in Plaistow, east London, on 10 August 2006, following Mr Islam's arrest.

Prosecutor Peter Wright QC read some of the "coded phrases", along with their meanings, out to the jury.

He alleged that some of the phrases were codes for particular actions, while others represented key places and destinations.

Included on one table were the codes: "Someone ready for Jihad - going to have a party"; "accident happened - car broke down or how are you, how's your mother," the jury was told.

Under a heading called "Persons and Institutions", "sweet shop" stood for the British embassy.

Under the heading "Countries and Locations", the UK became "Argentina", the prosecution said.

Defending Islam, Lawrence McNulty said the papers were found among personal documents not relating to his client.

Phone cards

Mr Wright also gave the jury a breakdown of the mobile phones, calling cards, landlines and sim cards which the defendants are alleged to have used to keep in contact with each other.

Evidence showing how Assad Sarwar used different Lycatel phone cards to call co-defendants Abdulla Ahmed Ali and Mohammed Gulzar, was also presented to the jury.

Mr Islam is one eight defendants on trial for conspiring to murder thousands by smuggling liquid bombs onto transatlantic jets.

They are alleged to have been planning to detonate bombs mid-air on flights from London to cities across North America, including Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington.

The defendants are Mr Ali, aka Ahmed Ali Khan, 27, of Walthamstow, Assad Sarwar, 24, of High Wycombe, Tanvir Hussain, 27, of no fixed address, and Mr Gulzar, 26, of Barking.

Also charged, are Ibrahim Savant, 27, of Walthamstow, Arafat Waheed Khan, 26, of Walthamstow, Waheed Zaman, 23, of Walthamstow and Mr Islam, aka Brian Young, 29, of High Wycombe.

The trial continues.