British-Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist bought Kevlar from Canada

Terror trove bought here

Recruiter for militant group visited Ontario on a false passport just months after Sept. 11, 2001
He obtained textile for armour plating at a plant in Cambridge, Michelle Shephard reports

Mar. 31, 2006. 05:12 AM

MICHELLE SHEPHARD

STAFF REPORTER

In January 2002, just four months after the 9/11 attacks when both Canada and the U.S. were still on high alert for more assaults, a Briton named Mohammed Ajmal Khan wasn't on anyone's radar as he travelled to Toronto to buy a seemingly benign product.He came in search of 1,000 square metres of Kevlar.Stronger than steel, Kevlar has many uses — from the protective coating on military jeeps and hummers and body armour used by U.S. Navy seals, to hockey sticks and the siding of canoes. It's unclear what 31-year-old Khan told employees when he visited Barrday, a Cambridge, Ont., factory that specializes in industrial textiles, but he had already made email contact with the company so they were anticipating his arrival. Khan came with a friend and the pair was asked to sign an agreement that would preclude them from disclosing what they saw during a tour of the facility.Khan had fake identification, and bogus company credentials, and after the purchase was made, and the Kevlar shipped to an address in Pakistan, Khan returned to his Coventry home. His friend Palvinder Singh, who had come to Toronto for a wedding, also returned to Britain shortly afterwards.What happened next to the Kevlar once it reached Pakistan, according to London Metropolitan Police, was enough to send Khan behind bars for nine years. Earlier this month, the Briton was jailed for terrorism offences, which included providing equipment for the Pakistani-based separatist group Lashkar-e-Tayibba. Fighting for independence in Kashmir against India, the group has close ties to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, according to Western intelligence services. Both Canada and Britain have designated the group a terrorist organization. British police say the militant group was conducting operations in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003, in areas where British and American forces were stationed, and where Canadian troops now are deployed. According to emails later recovered by Scotland Yard investigators, the Kevlar that Khan bought was to be used for armouring up to six vehicles.Khan also admitted he attended a Lashkar-e-Tayibba training camp in Pakistan and by September 2001 held a senior role in the organization, responsible for foreign recruits. His friend who accompanied him to Barrday was also charged, but acquitted last month after arguing he was presumed guilty by association — he knew Khan since childhood but had no knowledge the materials were shipped to a terrorist organization.London police hailed the conviction as the arrest of a major "terrorist quartermaster.""Khan's conviction is very important. It sends a clear message to anyone prepared to train as a terrorist or support terrorism that they can expect to be prosecuted. We also want to reassure the public that we will continue to do everything possible to fight terrorism," said Peter Clarke, head of London Metropolitan Police's anti-terrorist branch.While not often fighting themselves, terrorist quartermasters (those who acquire equipment for the organization) are lifelines for the group."These are people who are fundamentally integral to these kind of organizations or networks because they are the people that actually provide weapons or equipment so that they can carry out these attacks," says Alex Standish, British editor of Jane's Intelligence Digest. "Terrorist organizations or groups do not want to draw attention to themselves so there's always a difficulty in procurement."Standish says the IRA has a documented history of effectively using quartermasters to quietly import materials from around the world. Different grades of aramid fibres, which are best known by its brand name of Kevlar, face export restrictions from Canada if they're military or nuclear grade. It's not clear what type Khan purchased and whether it was on the restricted list, thereby requiring an export permit from the Canadian government.International Trade Canada spokesperson Brooke Grantham said he could not disclose if a permit was issued or requested in this case.Individual companies may also require certain requirements for the sale of a large amount of Kevlar. A Barrday representative said this week he could not disclose what criteria Khan would have to meet before his sale was completed."Our position is we cannot comment on that issue. We were involved and participated with different police forces to aid in the capture and really we were advised we shouldn't discuss the matter," said Tony Fiorenzini, Barrday VP of manufacturing.Khan also pleaded guilty to buying remote control and video equipment and a global positioning system. The London court was told the equipment was used to test an unmanned aerial vehicle "drone." Indian and Pakistani forces in the region have shot down similar drones laden with explosives, the court heard.Khan was arrested on Sept. 12, 2003 at London's Heathrow Airport as he returned on a flight from Bahrain. After searching three properties in Coventry, police seized his computer and an air pistol converted to fire live ammunition. He was released on bail but rearrested March 1, 2005 following a further investigation by the police force's anti-terrorist branch.The investigation also included American citizens, Masaud Khan, who was jailed for life plus 65 years in June 2004, and Seifullah Chapman, who was sentenced to 85 years for providing material support to the terrorist group.