Police charge Venezuelan accused of carrying grenade in luggage

www.guardian.co.uk Jeevan Vasagar Monday February 17, 2003 The Guardian

The man allegedly caught with a hand grenade at Gatwick airport has been charged under the Terrorism Act, Scotland Yard said last night. He will appear before Bow Street magistrates in London today.

The 37-year-old Venezuelan is charged with possession of an article for committing a terrorist act, possession of an explosive substance with intent to endanger life or damage property, and carrying a dangerous article on a British-registered aircraft.

Earlier he was named by Venezuelan authorities as Rahaman Alan Hazil Mohammad. The Venezuelan ambassador, Alfredo Toro-Hardy, said a copy of his passport had been sent to Caracas to check its validity.

The envoy denied links between his country and Islamist terrorism. "Venezuela is a country in the western hemisphere that has no relation with the Islamist movement," he said. "There may be some individuals who may have some personal position, as was the case with [the shoe bomber] Richard Reid, who was an Englishman."

He also insisted Venezuelan airport security was good.

Anti-terrorist officers were yesterday still questioning Mr Mohammad, who was arrested on Thursday after he arrived on a British Airways flight from Caracas. He was in custody at the high-security Paddington Green police station in west London. Scotland Yard refused to confirm the suspect's name.

The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir John Stevens, said yesterday that al-Qaida terrorists had a "substantial presence" in Britain, and the risk of attacks remained high.

While most of the security work needed to thwart the terrorists had to go on in secrecy, some successes had been achieved. Eight arrests had been made near airports in England last week.