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NEW YORK - Three suspects, including a Jewish American, had their remand extended yesterday after being nabbed on suspicion of attempting to smuggle a missile to Muslim terror groups operating inside the United States. British arms dealer Hemant Lakhani is suspected of heading the half a million dollar operation with two accomplices, Yehuda Avraham, a New York resident and Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed, of Malaysia, who helped to launder the missile funds. The three were captured in a sting operation mounted over the past year-and-a-half in coordination among American, Russian and British authorities, the FBI revealed yesterday. Yehuda Avraham received the...

NEWARK, N.J. - A London-based financial manager was sentenced Thursday to 24 months in prison for his role in a plot to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the U.S. to aid terrorists. Manthena Raja, 45, pleaded guilty in September to one count of money laundering. He admitted he facilitated two cash transfers from the U.S. worth $86,500 for British businessman Hemant Lakhani, even though he knew the money was for an illegal arms deal. Raja, an Indian citizen, had faced a sentence of between 37 and 46 months under federal guidelines, but the government recommended a lesser term because he cooperated...

NEWARK, New Jersey - An American Jew was among three suspects nabbed for allegedly attempting to smuggle a missile to terror groups operating inside the United States in order to down commercial aircraft. But the smuggling attempt was in fact a sting operation orchestrated over the past 18 months by U.S., Russian and British authorities. Terrorism-related charges were leveled on Wednesday against a British arms dealer who praised Osama bin Laden and thought he was smuggling into the United States missiles, federal prosecutors announced. Two other suspected accomplices to the plot, inlcuding Yehuda Abraham, who is Jewish, face conspiracy charges,...

(AP) — Some highlights from an FBI affidavit filed in federal court in New Jersey, outlining the alleged plot to smuggle a shoulder-launched missile into the United States: _Investigation began in December 2001, when a "cooperating witness" or informant under federal law enforcement control began talking with the alleged arms dealer, Hemant Lakhani, about obtaining anti-aircraft guns and missiles. The witness told Lakhani he was representing a Somali group that wanted to buy one missile initially "with a purchase of a greater number of missiles to follow." _Between Dec. 2001 and Aug. 13, 2003, more than 150 conversations between Lakhani...

A businessman from Hendon was sentenced to 47 years in prison on Monday after being found guilty of attempting to smuggle missiles into America. Clothing merchant Hemant Lakhani, 70, of Wykeham Road, was convicted in April this year of trying to sell shoulder-launched missiles to a Somali terrorist group to shoot down commercial airliners. The case centred on the evidence of the US government's key witness, Mohammed Habib Rehman, an informant posing as a representative of the Somali-based Ogaden National Liberation Front interested in buying missiles. The court in Newark, New Jersey, heard tape-recorded telephone conversations and viewed video surveillance...

Brit's 47yr terror term By SUN ONLINE REPORTERA BRITISH businessman was today beginning a 47-year jail sentence in the US after being convicted of attempting to support terrorism. Hemant Lakhani, 70, of north London, carried out "horrendous" crimes that included brokering an arms deal for an undercover FBI agent. He had been found guilty in April of attempting to support terrorism and illegal weapons brokering after a complex FBI sting that involved intelligence spanning three continents. Passing sentence, Judge Katherine Hayden told New Jersey District Court in Newark: "There is overwhelming evidence that Mr Lakhani was prepared to sell...

THE TRIAL of Hemant Lakhani, the Briton accused of trying to sell missiles to terrorists in the US, is underway, with the jury set to begin its final deliberations in New Jersey. Lakhani, 69, a London resident, was arrested after presenting a sample shoulder-fired missile to an FBI agent posing as a Somali terrorist. He has denied the charges. Lakhani`s lawyer, Henry Klingeman, has described his client as a "joke" who "couldn`t finish a deal if his life depended on it". According to him, Lakhani is a victim of entrapment, adding that his client could not have sold illegal arms...

NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - A British businessman was found guilty on Wednesday of trying to aid terrorists for selling a shoulder-launched missile to an informant posing as a militant seeking to attack the United States. Hemant Lakhani, 69, a British citizen born in India, was found guilty of five criminal charges by a U.S. District Court jury in Newark, New Jersey, that began deliberating on Tuesday. Lakhani was arrested in August 2003 after a two-year international sting operation and accused of trying to provide material support to terrorists, unlawful arms sales, smuggling and two counts of money laundering. His arrest...

A Briton went on trial in Newark, N.J., Tuesday accused of trying to sell missiles to Islamic terrorists so they could shoot down a U.S. airliner. In the case, Indian-born Hemant Lakhani, 69, faces 25 years in jail if convicted for allegedly offering to sell Russian shoulder-launched anti-aircraft weapons to a federal informant posing as an Islamic terrorist. (excerpted) But the people Lakhani believed were selling the weapons system to him in Russia were also working for the feds -- the Russian Federal Security Bureau, successor to the KGB. And the missile had been rendered inert before it even left...

<p>A federal judge yesterday set a Nov. 3 trial date for Hemant Lakhani, the British merchant arrested in New Jersey for allegedly arranging the sale of a shoulder-fired missile to anti-American terrorists.</p> <p>Lakhani's attorney, Henry Klingeman, said he wanted the trial to begin sooner, but told U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden that he would accept the date.</p>

Briton denies trying to smuggle missiles into USA British man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the US. Hemant Lakhani, 68, of Hendon, north London, also denied charges that he told an undercover agent posing as a terrorist that he could obtain a radioactive "dirty bomb". Lakhani, who appeared at New Jersey District Court in Newark, denied further charges that he offered to procure anti-aircraft guns, tanks, armoured personnel carriers, radar systems and C-4 explosives. No trial date was set but all parties will return to court on April 26, when defence...

WASHINGTON -- The FBI has arrested a British man as part of an international sting operation involving an alleged plot to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the United States, authorities said Tuesday. The man was arrested in Newark, N.J., according to a senior law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity. The man's name and the charges were not immediately available. The arrest was part of a broader investigation by the FBI, British and Russian authorities, the official said. More arrests were expected. It was not immediately clear whether the plot was connected to al-Qaida or some other terrorist network. Justice...

Nicked ... emotionless Lakhani arrives at court THE British arms dealer seized over a US terror plot hero-worshipped Osama Bin Laden.Hemant Lakhani, 68, tried to supply missiles for a blitz on the scale of the September 11 attacks.He spoke of a bid to shoot down a plane on the anniversary of 9/11.Lakhani hated the US and was hell-bent on killing Americans, prosecutors said last night.The arms dealer believed terror leader Osama Bin Laden “did something right and set the Americans straight” when he orchestrated the September 11 attacks.And he was ready to help extremists unleash a new wave of terror....

<p>NEWARK -- A man already accused of supporting terrorists in a missile smuggling plot was indicted yesterday on charges that he also offered to deliver a "dirty bomb."</p> <p>In addition to shoulder-fired missiles, Hemant S. Lakhani also said he could get anti-aircraft guns, tanks, armored personnel carriers, radar systems and a "dirty bomb," U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said.</p>

An alleged missile broker arrested in New Jersey suggested to his buyer that the weapons be launched simultaneously against 15 U.S. jetliners and offered to deliver a radioactive "dirty bomb" for use against Americans, federal authorities said yesterday. Prosecutors announced the new allegations after a grand jury sitting in Newark returned a five-count indictment against the man, Hemant Lakhani. The 69-year-old London resident was arrested Aug. 12 at a hotel near Newark Liberty International Airport after he thought he had delivered an Igla shoulder-fired missile to a Somali terrorist who said he wanted to down U.S. planes. Officials said the...

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A bail hearing for a man facing terrorism charges in an alleged missile-smuggling plot was postponed Thursday so that prosecutors could present a witness to bolster accusations that the defense claimed were vague. Meanwhile, defendant Hemant Lakhani will remain held without bail. The hearing was set to resume next Thursday. U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said Thursday that Lakhani confessed after his arrest and can be heard on more than 150 covertly recorded conversations and seen in some videotapes, at one point actually handling a missile he knew was sought by a terrorist group to shoot...

NEWARK -- A bail hearing for a man facing terrorism charges in an alleged missile-smuggling plot was postponed yesterday so that prosecutors could present a witness to bolster accusations that the defense claimed were vague. Meanwhile, defendant Hemant Lakhani will remain held without bail. The hearing was set to resume next Thursday. U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said yesterday that Lakhani confessed after his arrest and is heard on more than 150 covertly recorded conversations and seen in some videotapes, at one point actually handling a missile he believed was sought by a terrorist group to shoot down a U.S....

The reputation of BBC journalism, already under the spotlight at the Hutton Inquiry, faces another test after one of its senior correspondents announced he was taking legal action against an American magazine. Tom Mangold said he was "issuing legal proceedings" against Newsweek after it alleged that his exclusive report on tthe arrest of a British-Indian businessman for attempting to sell missiles to Islamic terrorists had "blown" a major intelligence operation. Mangold has instructed the solicitors Mischcon de Reya to write to the magazine which claimed that his report on the arrest of Hemant Lakhani had forced the FBI to "abort...

News Leak Blows Big Opportunity Newsweek Web Exclusive While publicly congratulating themselves over the bust of an international arms dealer in an alleged plot to sell Russian-made surface-to-air missiles, top Justice Department officials are privately fuming over a premature news leak that may have blown a rare opportunity to penetrate Al Qaeda's arms-buying network, NEWSWEEK has learned. THE FBI'S ARREST of London-based arms dealer Hemant Lakhani, 68, at a hotel room near Newark Liberty International Airport this week was supposed to be only an interim step in what officials hoped would be a far more meaningful long-term operation, law-enforcement sources...