Briton is charged with missile sale attempt

A SUSPECTED British arms dealer who authorities believe was selling a shoulder-fired missile to a Muslim terrorist bent on shooting down an airliner was arraigned on federal charges yesterday.

Hemant Lakhani, 68, of London, was ordered held without bail by US Magistrate Judge Susan D Wigenton pending a custody hearing on Monday.

He is charged with attempting to provide material support and material resources to terrorists and acting as an arms broker without a licence.

"This morning, the terrorists who threaten America lost an ally," the US Attorney for New Jersey, Christopher Christie, told reporters.

"Lakhani believed and proved himself willing to deal with groups he thought were terrorists and that specifically stated they intended to use this missile for terrorist activity in the United States against commercial airlines," Mr Christie said.

Lakhani's lawyer refused to comment on the case after the hearing.

Another defendant in the case, Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed, was also ordered held without bail on charges of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Officials also announced charges against a third man, Yehuda Abraham, on money laundering charges.

Authorities in the United States, Britain and Russia co-operated in the investigation, which began months ago with a tip that the dealer was seeking weapons to buy in St Petersburg, Russia, according to US law enforcement officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

The probe culminated on Tuesday in the arrest of Lakhani at a hotel in Newark, New Jersey, where, officials said, he had flown from London to close the deal on a sophisticated Russian SA-18 Igla missile capable of bringing down commercial airliners.

The Muslim extremist who wanted the missile was actually an FBI informant and the weapon was a dummy copy brought from Russia to the United States aboard a ship to make the deal seem real, officials said.

The two men believed to be involved in money laundering, Hameed and Abraham, were apprehended about the same time at what was described as a gem dealership just off Fifth Avenue in New York.

Lakhani is not believed to be connected to al-Qaida or any other known terrorist group, federal officials say. Authorities also stressed that there was no specific, credible threat to shoot down an airliner in the United States.

But one official said the understanding between Lakhani and the undercover FBI agent was that the missile needed to be capable of bringing down a commercial airliner.

Evidence against Lakhani includes hours of audio and videotapes in which he discusses the plot, speaks favourably of Osama bin Laden and refers to the September 11 terrorist attacks as "a good thing."

The investigation began when Russian authorities passed on a tip picked up in St Petersburg about the reputed arms dealer's activities to the FBI, which was permitted to work inside Russia.

British officials, including the MI5 domestic intelligence agency, helped in tracking the man.

Concerns about terrorists using shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down commercial airliners increased in November when two SA-7 missiles narrowly missed an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya.

Officials concluded that al-Qaida probably was behind the attack, which coincided with a bomb blast at a nearby hotel.

Hundreds and perhaps thousands of shoulder-fired missiles heat-seeking rockets that can hit low-flying aircraft within three miles are said to be available on the worldwide arms market. Older missile launchers can be bought for as little as several thousand dollars.

Chechen rebels have used Igla shoulder-fired missiles against Russian military aircraft.

Last week they used a missile to shoot down a Russian helicopter, killing three of the crew. And last year the rebels shot down a Russian troop-carrying helicopter, killing more than 100 people.

The Homeland Security Department has asked US high-tech companies to look into developing anti-missile technology for commercial planes.