Briton convicted in US of trying to sell missiles to terrorists
Gary Younge in New York
Thursday April 28, 2005

The Guardian A British businessman who tried to sell shoulder-launched missiles to what he thought was a terrorist cell that planned to shoot down aircraft in the US was found guilty yesterday in a federal court in New Jersey.

Hemant Lakhani, 69, a former clothing merchant from Hendon, north London, was found guilty of all five charges he faced, including attempting to provide material support to terrorists and the unlawful brokering of foreign defence articles. The offences carry a maximum sentence of 67 years in prison and fines of up to $2.5m (£1.3m).

Lakhani agreed to supply a Russian-made Igla missile to a government informant posing as a representative of the Somali-based Ogaden National Liberation Front. He was arrested in a hotel room in Newark, New Jersey, in August 2003 by undercover US government agents.
Lakhani had told the agents that the rockets could be used to shoot down 10 to 15 aeroplanes simultaneously on the second anniversary of the September 11 terrorist outrage, and offered a further 50 missiles.

Lakhani, who was born in India but had lived in Britain for 45 years, is heard on audio and video tapes praising Osama bin Laden and claiming the terror leader "straightened them all out" and "did a good thing".

"This case is about a man who enthusiastically tries to sell 200 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles to people who he believed would use them to shoot down planes in the sky with people aboard as part of a terrorist attack on the United States," Stuart Rabner, the prosecutor, told the court>>>continued

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1471967,00.html