Subject: [NEXTEL-1] How a telephone intercept led to MI5's biggest hunt for Islamic terror suspects

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 12:36:19 -0500

How a telephone intercept led to MI5's biggest hunt for Islamic terror
suspects

By Jason Bennetto and Kim Sengupta

The Independent
31 March 2004 

It was in February that eight young British citizens living in and
around
London first became the focus of what would turn into MI5's biggest ever
operation against suspected al-Qa'ida terrorists.

During the next six weeks, the full force of Britain's intelligence
capabilities were used against the suspects, all of whom are of
Pakistani
descent, to track them, eavesdrop their conversations, bug their phones,
and
follow their every move.

The security services were first alerted to the suspected cells of
Islamic
extremists after intercepting one of the group's telephone
conversations.
As the operation snowballed, more and more officers from MI5, Scotland
Yard's anti-terrorist branch, and the listening centre at GCHQ in
Cheltenham, joined the investigation.

The inquiry, codenamed Crevis, came to a head yesterday in a series of
co-ordinated early morning raids involving around 700 police officers.
The
target of the operation were eight men, aged 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 21, 22
and
32, and a warehouse in west London.

Inside the lock-up storage centre in Boston Road, Hanwell, the police
seized
more than half a ton of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, a bomb-making
ingredient, in a 6ft by 2ft plastic bag. It was the biggest seizure of
potential bomb-making material since the IRA suspended its terror
campaign
in 1997.

During the numerous phone taps and interceptions in the security
services'
operation, the group of young men are alleged to have discussed a number
of
possible targets in Britain, including a shopping complex on or close to
the
M25 motorway. There were suggestions the Jordanian embassy could have
been
targeted because of Jordan's assistance to the Americans before the Iraq
war
and because Iraqi soldiers are now training in that country.

Other targets were also allegedly mentioned, but according to
anti-terrorist
sources, no single location was selected. There is speculation that the
men
considered an attack on Gatwick or Heathrow because several of the men
arrested lived near the airports and at least one works at Gatwick but
sources believe that is unlikely because of the tight security
surrounding
the airports.

Little information has been released about the eight men who were
arrested,
although the security service has built up a detailed picture of their
lives
during the intensive surveillance operation.

Two of the men were arrested in Uxbridge, north-west London, one in
Ilford,
Essex, one in Horley, Surrey, one in Slough and three in Crawley in
Sussex.
All the men have family connections in Pakistan and are understood to
have
visited the country several times. One suspect is said to have taken
part in
a training camp near Peshawar in the west of the country before the war
in
Afghanistan, after travelling to the Punjab to visit relatives.

But it is in Britain that the group are alleged to have become
radicalised
and joined the growing band of Islamic extremists who support Osama bin
Laden. One of the suspects was said to have worshipped at the Brixton
mosque
where Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker
in
the 11 September attacks, have also worshipped. It is not known,
however, if
the men ever met.

The age of the remaining suspects is thought to reflect the growing
radicalisation of a tiny number of young British-born Muslims. There
appeared to be no overt links between the eight suspects arrested
yesterday
and the group accused over the Madrid bombing.

The extreme youth of the majority of the eight also highlights the
difficulties for the security services in trying to identify likely
al-Qa'ida followers. In normal circumstances, anti-terrorist operations
would be aimed at suspects with a history of extremism or violence.
The decision to arrest the suspects yesterday was taken by MI5 and
Deputy
Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch
and
national co-ordinator for terrorism, amid concerns that a bomb was being
prepared.

At 6am, officers from five different police forces carried out the raids
i
in the Home Counties. In all, 24 properties were raided and searches
were
continuing in many of them last night.

Police were on guard at the Access Storage Solutions warehouses
yesterday
while forensic officers continued their examination of the site where
they
discovered the fertiliser. The warehouse contains individually alarmed
lock-ups, 24-hour automated access to the site and office space.
So-called
"drive-ups" allow vans and cars to back on to the storage units, making
loading easier.

In Crawley, about 100 officers took part in the operation and arrested
three
men aged 19, 22 and 32 in the Langley Green area of the town, which has
one
of the largest ethnic populations in West Sussex. No names have been
released but it is believed one of those arrested worked for Sky Chef, a
catering company at Gatwick while the other worked for Checker Cab
Company,
also based at the airport.

Officers remained at the addresses, which continued to be cordoned off
with
police tape last night. In Langley Drive, Crawley, yesterday, two
uniformed
police officers were standing guard outside a house after one of the
raids.
Police were also on guard outside an internet café in nearby Langley
Parade.
A house was raided in Juniper Road, Crawley and six houses were raided
in
Luton. Forensic officers in white boiler suits searched the premises.
Yasin Rehman, information officer for the Luton Council of Mosques, said
extremist groups had been targeting young men in Luton for several
years.
He said they had been banned from mosques after attempting to recruit
followers but continued to hold meetings and distribute leaflets in the
town.

He said Muslim leaders had formed the council of mosques in an attempt
to
counteract the extremist messages. "I would say there are up to 30-40
people
in Luton who are members of these groups," said Mr Rehman.

"They used to produce leaflets. Sometimes disgusting leaflets about
killing
people. We tried to stop that, telling them that they could not use our
mosques to distribute these leaflets. Their message seems to be that the
West is to blame for everything. The majority of the people in the
Muslim
community don't support extremism. But we are concerned because they are
targeting young people - young people who come from deprived areas who
often
have nothing and little hope."

One neighbour of a family raided in Luton said: "I'd be amazed if they
were
involved in any kind of terrorism. They can't have done anything wrong.
They're a nice family. From what I heard, the police came here at about
5
o'clock kicking doors down like The Sweeney."

Crawley Police warned that searches were likely to continue for several
days. Police are also investigating the Gatwick Holiday Inn in Horley
where
an arrest was made in connection with anti-terrorism operations. They
sealed
off two rooms on the fourth floor. Room numbers 440 and 442 have been
placed
off limits by officers who have posted a police guard outside the doors.
Items are being removed for examination.

The Home Secretary David Blunkett said the finds were a "timely
reminder"
that British interests at home and abroad remained a target. "We have
always
been clear with the people in the UK that we face a real and serious
threat," he said. 

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=506804

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