Weapons dealer guilty

A BRITISH businessman has been found guilty of attempting to provide material support to terrorists in the United States.

Hemant Lakhani, aged 69, from north London, was also convicted of illegal weapons brokering, two counts of money laundering and for importing merchandise into the US using false statements. Mr Lakhani faces 25 years in jail.

The jury at New Jersey District Court in Newark, returned its verdict after around eight hours of deliberations.

Mr Lakhani was arrested in August 2003 in an FBI sting after presenting a sample shoulder-fired missile to an informant posing as a member of a Somali terrorist group in a Newark hotel room. He told the agent he had rockets that could shoot down 10 to 15 aeroplanes simultaneously.