Articles | Terror police 'found bomb kits'

Terror police 'found bomb kits'

Published: Tuesday, 15 April 2008, 4:35PM

A suitcase containing equipment and raw materials which could be used to make bombs was found in woods by police, the airliner terror plot trial has heard.

Woolwich Crown Court was told how the blue hard plastic case was found hidden at the base of a tree and covered in leaves in King's Wood, near High Wycombe, Bucks.

The 600 acre woodland was systematically divided up and combed in zones by officers from August 9, 2006.

The police search coincided with the arrest of Assad Sarwar and a further seven men now on trial accused of conspiring to murder thousands of people by exploding home-made liquid bombs on aircraft in August 2006.

Richard Whittam, prosecuting, told the court how the suitcase was opened with the aid of explosives officers and was found to contain black plastic bin liners.

Items recovered from the case included plastic syringes, a digital thermometer, two glass thermometers and an empty glass 250ml jar which was found to contain a fingerprint resembling Sarwar's.

Mr Whittam said the items were parts of the necessary equipment required by someone with sufficient knowledge to manufacture hexamethylene triperoxide (HTMD).

A further bin liner contained a Saxo salt container filled with a white powder later identified as hexamine.

Another white plastic 250ml bottle was found with the remains of a note stating "To make mix 11oz of". The clear liquid inside contained hydrogen peroxide at 40 per cent strength. Eighteen pipettes were also recovered alongside a quantity of citric acid.

Officers later found another black bin liner containing a plastic bottle in a cardboard tube filled with a clear liquid, which was later identified as hydrogen peroxide at 40 per cent strength.

The jury heard how a police search of Fennell's Wood, close to the M40 motorway, recovered several five litre plastic mineral water bottles containing hydrogen peroxide at 20 and 40 per cent strength.

The defendants are: Ali (aka Ahmed Ali) Khan, 27, of Prospect Hill, Walthamstow, Sarwar, 27, of Walton Drive, High Wycombe, Tanvir Hussain, 27, of Nottingham Road, Leyton, east London, Mohammed Gulzar, 26, of Priory Road, Barking, Ibrahim Savant, 27, of Denver Road, Stoke Newington, north London, Arafat Waheed Khan, 26, of Farnan Avenue, Walthamstow, Waheed Zaman, 23, of Queen's Road, Walthamstow and Islam, aka Brian Young, 29, of Bushey Road, Plaistow, east London.

All eight deny the charges. The trial continues.