Guardian : Batteries, Lucozade, and a syringe full of explosive

Batteries, Lucozade, and a syringe full of explosive

Prosecution tells jury at Woolwich crown court how British men planned to blow up seven planes flying out of Heathrow in coordinated attacks in August 2006

Rachel Williams | The Guardian | April 4, 2008

The plot

According to the prosecution case against eight men that was outlined yesterday at Woolwich crown court, a plot to blow up seven aircraft focused on flights heading out of Heathrow airport that were "particularly vulnerable" to a coordinated attack.

The jury was shown diagrams demonstrating how unless there were cancellations or serious delays, from some time soon after 4.50pm on any day of the week, the seven flights, each carrying hundreds of passengers and crew, would all be in air over land or sea at altitude.

They were scheduled to leave within a two-hour, 35-minute time period, from the first departure of the 14.15 United Airlines to San Francisco, to the 16.50 American Airlines to Chicago.

Records from the carriers showed that from January 2006 to late October 2007, the aircraft departed daily and with few cancellations.

"The highlighting of these daily flights does not appear to have been either accidental or coincidental ... If each of these aircraft was successfully blown up, the potential for loss of life was indeed considerable and there would be little, if any, chance of saving any of them from their impending disaster, for once the mid-flight explosions began, the authorities would be unable to prevent the other flights from meeting a similar fate as they would already be mid-air and carrying their deadly cargo," said prosecutor Peter Wright QC.

He showed the jury where each plane would be at several randomly selected times, adding: "A coordinated strike upon the aircraft engaged in these seven flights by the onboard detonation of improvised explosive devices was capable, we say, of producing quite catastrophic consequences for passengers, crew and, indeed, anyone who happened to be in the path of a stricken or disintegrating aircraft, if it plummeted to earth over a populated part of northern Europe or North America."

Looking at the schedule underlined the "magnitude" of the plan, Wright said.

A USB memory stick found in Abdulla Ahmed Ali's right-hand pocket when he was arrested contained details of flight timetables, baggage information, security advice about what items could be taken on flights as hand luggage and which were restricted, plus other information about Heathrow airport.

When asked about it, Ali said the memory stick contained holiday destinations in America. "When it was examined, it was found to contain rather more than that," Wright said.

He told the jury the material appeared to have been "cut and pasted" from data supplied by Innovator, a company which provides flight-based data and timetable services to the airline and travel industry, and to BAA.

The information related to flights by certain carriers from London Heathrow, but whoever had gathered it only appeared interested in one-way journeys to the US and Canada. "They did not appear to share a similar interest in ever flying back to the United Kingdom on a return flight," Wright said.

The timetables covered the period from August 2 2006 to August 1 2007, but "the manner in which the material had been collated revealed that the collator appeared to have a particular interest in the period between August 2 2006 and late October 2006".

When investigators selected a random date, August 2, they found a "very close comparison" between the scheduled and actual take-off times.

"Therefore, barring unexpected cancellation or lengthy delay, seven passenger aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers and crew depart Heathrow for North America entirely at the mercy of the suicide bombers who happened to be on board with their delayed devices."

Wright said it was not suggested the alleged conspirators had descended into the detail of picking times to detonate their bombs.

The devices

The accused planned to use household and everyday items that would appear innocent, the jury heard.

Leaving little to chance, the alleged terrorists planned to pack pornographic magazines in their hand luggage to distract airport security staff, Wright said.

The diary found on Ali when he was arrested showed planning for the coordinated attacks on civilian aircraft, the court heard.

One extract read to the jury said: "Select date. Five days B4 [text speak]. All link up. Prepare. Dirty mag to distract. Condoms. One drink used, other keep in pocket maybe will not get through machine, plus keys and chewing gum on the D in the elec device. Keep ciggies. Cameras take. The drinks that you should drink should be dif flava."

Soft drinks containers were key to the plot. Bottles of Lucozade and Oasis would have their original contents removed via a syringe, and replaced with a homemade liquid explosive.

A dye would be added so they appeared to be the same colour as the original drink, the prosecution alleged.

To airport security they would also appear unopened, with the alleged terrorists having plunged a syringe through a moulding point in the bottom of the bottle.

Wright told the jury: "What it was proposed would be done in this case would be that the men would drill a small hole in the base of each of the injection moulding points.

"The original content, laborious though it would be, would then be removed and the ready-mixed liquid explosive introduced, using a hypodermic or syringe in order to achieve that particular exercise. The base would then be re-sealed using a glue, superglue or similar product, that would then create a liquid-proof repair within the moulding point and also the top of the bottle would therefore appear factory-sealed, creating the illusion that it was unopened, innocent and an everyday item."

The liquid explosive, which can be made from commonly available items, was to be mixed with a powdered fruit drink called Tang.

The Tang would help in creating the explosion, Wright said.

"When Tang, which is an energetic compound, because of the material from which it is made ... is combined ... it is capable of creating an energetic mixture that can be detonated.

"It is the crown's case that what the bombers intended to do was to carry [the mixture] ... on to the aircraft in their hand luggage, disguised as 500ml bottles of Oasis or Lucozade-type drink, soft drink." The liquid explosive would need to be detonated, and the crown say a specific chemical would have been used.

Evading security

It would be disguised in hollowed-out AA batteries, which the alleged terrorists' research showed would be allowed on the plane in their hand luggage.

Wright told the prosecution how all the various pieces would fit together to make a bomb: "The adapted battery would then be plugged using a foam disc or some such similar object. The electric element, with tail leads, such as an adapted miniature light bulb or similar heat source, with the element exposed, would then be connected to a power source such as a disposable camera or the like.

"This, a disposable camera or such power source, was then used to initiate the detonator. Easily assembled, we say, once you have the component parts all at hand."

Wright took the jury through pages of the diary.

Another extract read: "Clean batteries. Perfect disguise. Drink bottles, Lucozade, orange, red. Oasis, orange, red."

One read: "Mouthwash, blue, red. Calculate exact drops of Tang, plus colour. Make in HP." On the other side the writer had continued: "Check time to fill each bottle. Check time taken to dilute in HP. Decide on which battery to use for D. Small is best. Get bags, key rings, electrics for batteries, toothbrush, toothpaste, aftershave."

Further on was written: "Lucozade, red, 1.5 drops, one teaspoon Tang, one teaspoon orange, 12 drops. Oasis, red. On, red dye. Orange, two times mango."

Wright told the jury: "When one considers the methodology whereby primary explosive and detonator were to be combined to deadly effect, then the contents of the diary begin to make sense."