BA computer engineer gets 30 years for plane bomb plot
An Islamic terrorist sleeper who worked as a British Airways software engineer was jailed for 30 years today for plotting to help blow up a plane.
Rajib Karim, 31, hoped to assist one of the world's most wanted terrorists who was linked to al Qaeda and was bent on an atrocity to rival 9/11 or 7/7.
Karim, who worked at the airline's IT centre in Newcastle, was committed to martyrdom and even tried unsuccessfully to apply to train as an air steward during the BA cabin crew strike.
He passed on key information about airport security and suggested a crippling attack on BA's computer system. But the terrorist leader he reported to - Yemeni preacher Anwar al-Awlaki - had plans for him to supply information to blow up a plane. At Woolwich crown court, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith said Britain "owes an enormous debt of gratitude" to the police who cracked Karim's complex email code.
Karim, who came to the UK in 2006 from Bangladesh, was convicted of conduct in preparation of terrorist acts. He had admitted fundraising for terrorism and volunteering to become a Jihadi fighter to kill UK troops abroad.
