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Terror plotters planned 'Mumbai-style' attacks on London Al-Qaida-inspired plotters planned attacks on high-profile London targets
(about 1 hour later)
Four radical Islamists have admitted an al-Qaida inspired plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange. Five other men have pleaded guilty to other terrorism charges. An al-Qaida-inspired gang of terrorists have admitted plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange, and targeting Big Ben and Westminster Abbey after an eleventh-hour plea bargain in court.
The four Muslim fundamentalists wanted to send five mail bombs to various targets during the run-up to last Christmas and discussed launching a "Mumbai-style" atrocity. A handwritten target list found at one of the defendant's homes listed the names and addresses of the London mayor, Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the US embassy and the stock exchange. The terror plot was drawn up on a handwritten list and included the names and addresses of the London mayor, Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the US embassy and the London Eye, as potential sites to attack in the run-up to Christmas 2010.
The conspiracy involved nine men altogether, who admitted various terror crimes at Woolwich crown court and will be sentenced next week. "Lynchpin" Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, and his London accomplice Shah Rahman, 28, were followed by undercover detectives on 28 November 2010, observing the House of parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Palace of Westminster. The lynchpin of the group was Mohammed Chowdhury, a 21-year-old from east London, who pleaded guilty at Woolwich crown court on Wednesday to preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The nine defendants – the London duo, three from Cardiff and four from Stoke – were stopped by undercover anti-terror police before firm dates could be set for attacks. He and eight other young men from London, Cardiff and Stoke on Trent were due to face trial this week, but in a last-minute change of plea they admitted the terror plot, but denied the intention was to cause death or injury.
The terrorist plotters met because of their membership of various hardcore Islamic groups and stayed in touch over the internet, through mobile phones and at specially arranged meetings – held in parks in a bid to make surveillance difficult. Undercover detectives had followed Chowdhury and his right-hand man, Shah Rahman, observing Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament on 28 November 2010, during a massive surveillance operation which eventually led to the arrest of the terror gang.
The nine, all British nationals, were due to stand trial but changed their pleas at the 11th hour. Chowdhury, of Tower Hamlets and Shah Rahman, 28, of Newham, both London, admitted preparing for acts of terrorism by planning to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange. Chowdhury was told by the trial judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, that he could face a jail term of 13 and a half years, plus a five-year extended licence period.
They admitted the crime after a Goodyear hearing was held to give them an indication of their maximum sentences. The men, who had initially claimed that their meetings were part of an innocent plan to raise money for an Islamic project in Kashmir, are also said to have plotted attacks on pubs in the West Midlands. They were understood to be preparing to make a bomb and detonate it at the London Stock Exchange by pretending to be traders and planting explosives in the toilets in the hope that the building would catch fire.
The judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, told Chowdhury he would receive 18-and-a-half years and Rahman, 17 years. But the duo will only serve in the region of six years – because five are served on licence, prisoners only serve half their term as standard and they have already been behind bars for more than 12 months. The group – who will be sentenced next week – were inspired by Anwar al- Awlaki, the US-born Islamist cleric who was al-Qaida's leader in the Arab peninsula until he was killed in a drone attack last September.
Brothers Gurukanth Desai, 30, and Abdul Miah, 25, of Cardiff, also admitted the same count. The quartet aimed to plant the bomb "with the obvious attendant risk but without any intention to cause death or even injury but with the intention to terrorise, damage property and to cause economic damage", said Christopher Blaxland QC, Chowdhury's barrister. Chowdhury and his followers collected messages sent out by Awlaki, who had masterminded a plot to send bombs disguised as printer cartridges to US synagogues on cargo planes. His plan failed when the packages were intercepted.
Three of the Stoke defendants admitted a lesser, specific charge – engaging in conduct for the preparation of terrorism between 1 November and 21 December 2010 – namely travelling to and attending operational meetings, fundraising for terrorist training, preparing to travel abroad and assisting others in travelling abroad. The men are understood to have followed instructions to copy Awlaki's mail bombs in an al-Qaida magazine published five days before their first meeting in November 2010.
Usman Khan, 20, Mohammed Shahjahan 27, and Nazam Hussain, 26, all from Stoke, admitted attending those operational meetings in Cardiff on 7 November and in a Newport country park on 12 December. The publication, Inspire 3, detailed Awlaki's attempt to post the bombs to synagoges in October 2010.
Omar Latif, 28, of Cardiff, admitted attending the meetings with the intention of assisting others to prepare or commit acts of terrorism. Chowdhury and his co-defendants, Gurukanth Desai, 30, his brother, Abdul Miah, 25, Shah Rahman and Mohibur Rahman, were found with copies of the magazine as well as an earlier edition Inspire 2.
The fourth Stoke defendant, Mohibur Rahman, admitted possessing an article for a terrorist purpose on 20 December 2010. Rahman, 27, admitted being in possession of two editions of the al-Qaida magazine, Inspire, for terrorist purposes. Rahman, who is considered Chowdhury's right-hand man, was told he could expect a 12-year sentence with a five-year extended licence for preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
Andrew Edis, prosecuting, said: "The role of Inspire magazine and al-Awlaki and the fact they were carrying out a small but high profile and spontaneous attack shows they were in fact implementing the published strategy of al-Qaida in the Arab peninsula."
The nine men were arrested on 30 December 2010 after months of covert surveillance by police – led by anti-terror officers from the West Midlands force.
They had first met face to face at Roath Park in Cardiff in November 2010, where they discussed their ideas.
Chowdhury was nicknamed JMB by his co-defendants – after the banned terrorist group Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh. He and the others moved on from their first meeting to testing out bomb recipes, which they referred to as "cooking". It is understood that Miah and Desai caused an explosion in the street at one of their meetings in Wales.
Chowdhury and Rahman are also understood to have built pipe bombs at Chowdhury's home in Poplar, east London.
Two other members of the group were recorded by a police surveillance operation denying the Holocaust.
Addressing Chowdhury, the judge said: "The intention was that [the bomb] should cause terror, economic damage and property damage. There was, however, a serious risk that it should cause death and serious injury.
"It was intended that this should be carried out in the near future, however at the time of the arrest no materials had been obtained nor firm dates had been set.
"The detailed target had been developed during the indictment period; various other projects were also considered during this time."
Chowdhury, he said, was the "lynchpin". He had carried out significant research of the target and construction of the device, the judge said.
With Rahman they "in due course became party to a plan to place a live explosive device in the stock exchange."
Chowdhury and Rahman had visited London landmarks including the London eye and Westminster Abbey, after a meeting with Miah and Desai on 28 November 2010. They were also seen examining the Palace of Westminster, Blackfriars Bridge and the Church of Scientology in London.
Henry Blaxland QC, defending Chowdhury, however, said the basis of his guilty plea was that it quite specifically involved "no intention to cause death or injury".
Chowdhury, Rahman, Usman Khan, 20 of Stoke on Trent, Nazam Hussein, of Stoke on Trent, Mohammed Shahjahan, from Stoke, Miah and Desai, both from Cardiff, all admitted engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism, contrary to section 5 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Mohibur Rahman, from Stoke on Trent admitted possession of an article for a terrorist purpose; namely copies of Inspire magazine summer 2010 and Inspire magazine Autumn 2010.
Omar Latif, 28, from Cardiff, admitted assisting others to engage in preparation for acts of terrorism by travelling to and attending meetings on 7 November and 12 December 2010.
All nine defendants denied conspiring to cause an explosion or explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property.
Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Latif, Desai and Miah further denied possessing a document or record containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing for an act of terrorism.
They will be sentenced next week.