Mirror : 'Fanatics' on trial for Lucozade bottle planes bomb plot

'Fanatics' on trial for Lucozade bottle planes bomb plot

April 3, 2008

A GANG of Islamic fanatics planned to kill thousands by blowing passenger planes out of the sky with bombs concealed in Lucozade and Oasis bottles, a court heard today.

The eight would-be suicide bombers targeted seven flights to America and Canada, Woolwich Crown Court was told.

But the flights would never reach their destinations of Montreal, Toronto, New York, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco.

Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said the men “were, we say, indifferent to the carnage that was likely to ensue” and described them as having "cold-eyed certainty of the fanatic".

He told Woolwich Crown Court an "unwitting civilian population" would be the victim of the murderous plot devised in the name of Islam.

Mr Wright said: "What these men intended to bring about was a violent and deadly statement of intent that would have truly global impact."

He added that the defendants were planning “a civilian death toll from an act of terrorism on an almost unprecedented scale”, but “fortunately they were arrested before they could put those plans into effect."

Mr Wright told the jury that the bombs were to be made from hydrogen peroxide smuggled aboard in the soft drink bottles and detonated with a substance known as HMTD, which would be hidden inside AA batteries.

The accused are Abdul Ahmed Ali, aka Ahmed Ali Khan, 27, of Walthamstow, Assad Sarwar, 24, of High Wycombe, Tanvir Hussain, 27, of no fixed address, Mohammed Gulzar, 26, of Barking, Ibrahim Savant, 27, of Walthamstow, Arafat Waheed Khan, 26, of Walthamstow, Waheed Zaman, 23, of Walthamstow and Umar Islam, aka Brian Young, 29, of High Wycombe.