whywar707909928

British Indian arrested in missile sting
S Rajagopala
Washington, August 14

US authorities have arrested a British national of Indian origin after he tried
to smuggle in a Russian surface-to-air missile and sell it to FBI agents posing
as Al-Qaeda operatives.

The man, caught in an elaborate international sting operation, was not
immediately identified. But media reports, citing official sources, identified
him as Hekmat Lakhani, an independent arms dealer based in London.

The middle-aged Lakhani, some reports suggested, had links with the Mumbai
underworld.

Within hours of Lakhani's arrest from a hotel near Newark International Airport
on Tuesday morning, two other men were picked up from New York's diamond
district.

The arrests came five months after the FBI, in concert with Russian and British
agencies, mounted the sting operation. US undercover agents, tailing Lakhani,
sought to buy from him a Russian SA-18 Igla missile, which can down a
commercial jetliner. Russian agents, acting in tandem with their American
counterparts, supplied the missile to Lakhani and agreed to ship it to the US.
The missile was sent to Baltimore port in a crate labelled “medical
equipment�.

Lakhani had flown from London to close the deal, but he was confronted with an
arrest warrant immediately after he collected his crate.

While CNN reported Lakhani has in the past sold weapons to Al-Qaeda, federal
officials discounted his association with any terrorist group. "He's just in it
for the money," said an official.

But sections of the media quoted an official as saying that the FBI is in
possession of a tape in which Lakhani has spoken favourably about Osama.

The rocket from Russia

• Deadly range: Shoulder-fired Igla missile can down aircraft flying 3.5 km
high. Aircraft taking off and landing are most at risk from it

• Fire and hide: Just 1.5m long and weighing 15.5kg, the Igla can be easily
hidden, say, in a golf bag

• Igla Hunt: Won’t be easy. Russian officials say tens of thousands of such
missiles have leaked from poorly guarded arsenals

habshi

son is named Sanjay

pund_kamath

I don't know why Britain is a breeding ground-haven for terrorist? Is
it possible UK may have sleeper cells for Al-Queda etc.even though
there are no mountains and caves. Where can they hide?

harmony

news:<3f3ba07c.8124296@news.onetel.net.uk>...


why do they need to hide when they have full protection of british laws and,
more important, the british govt?
Brit govt allows full freedom to terrorists machinery to operate from its
soil despite entreaties of Indian govt to put an end to it.
and what does brit govt do when its terrorists get caught in India?
the british PM visits India and requests Indian govt to release
them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

another moment of truth for brits:
would be blair visit USA to get mohamad lakhani off the hook now?

bholu

Sanjay Khan...

Anyway, I think the bastard is a Hindu and a Gujju which makes it even
more galling considering he may have sold weapons to terrorists
operating in Guj and Kashmir.