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| Down Under |
| More on the Lodhi arrest |
| 2004-04-22 |
| Faleem Lodhi, 34, was charged with seven terrorist offences yesterday. Along with the deported Frenchman Willie Brigitte, he is believed to be the nucleus of what authorities believe was a plot to bomb a major Sydney site. It also follows admissions by Brigitte, who has been linked to the top ranks of al-Qaeda, that Lodhi was the alleged Sydney commander of a developing terrorist cell. To Brigitte, Lodhi was known as Abu Hamza. "The LET group based in Sydney, and formed around Abu Hamza, was preparing a large-scale terrorist act in Australia," Brigitte told France's anti-terrorist judge last year. Sydney's Central Local Court heard yesterday that ASIO had observed Lodhi, an architect, dumping documents in a bin. The material had included photographs from the internet showing the layout of the Sydney-based military facilities Holsworthy Army Base, Garden Island Naval Base, Victoria Barracks and HMAS Penguin. The final target of the alleged plot is unknown. The week before Brigitte's arrest in October, Lodhi allegedly made inquiries by fax, using a false name, to a chemical company about the availability of urea nitrate which, in large quantities, can cause a deadly explosion. He told ASIO he meant to send the chemicals to his family's tanning business in Pakistan. Lodhi also allegedly sought information about Sydney's underground electricity supply. The court heard that Lodhi tried to recruit Izhar ul-Haque, a medical student. Ul-Haque, 21, is in jail after being arrested a week ago for allegedly training with LET in Pakistan. Mr Hopper said ASIO allegedly saw his client dumping photographs of targeted sites in a bin but did not bother to see any alleged accomplice collect the "dead drop". The investigation was "botched". During interrogation in Paris, Brigitte identified a photograph of Lodhi. The French judge drafted an urgent communique to Australian security forces, urging an investigation into what he concluded were plans to launch a "terrorist act of great size in Australia". Brigitte also told French authorities that he had attended a LET training camp in Pakistan where he met a Pakistani man, Sajid, who later organised and paid for his trip to Australia. He said Sajid had ordered him to link up with Lodhi. Brigitte recalled Lodhi telling him to expect an unnamed house guest, possibly an explosives expert. The French dossier says Lodhi had the keys to Brigitte's flat and would organise "meetings there with the brothers." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |