Man jailed after pipe bomb found in luggage at Manchester Airport
Judge criticises airport security
Last updated 23rd Aug 2017
Story by PA
A man has been jailed for 18 years for possessing an explosive with intent to endanger life after a pipe bomb was found in his hand luggage at Manchester Airport.
Nadeem Muhammad, 43, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday after being found guilty following a trial earlier this month.
After sentencing, Judge Patrick Field QC criticised airport security for making a wholly erroneous and potentially dangerous'' conclusion that the bomb was not viable after it was seized by officers.
The court had heard he was planning to board a Ryanair flight to Italy on January 30 when security officers uncovered the device, made of masking tape, batteries, the tube of a marker pen, pins and wires, in the zip lining of his small green suitcase.
Muhammad claimed in court that he had never seen the device before and that it had nothing to do with him.
The jury reached a majority verdict of 10 to two on the charge following 15 hours and 45 minutes of deliberations.
During the trial it was revealed that security officers at the airport had not initially believed the bomb was viable and, after being questioned by counter terrorism police when the device was discovered, Muhammad was released and allowed to board another flight to Bergamo, near Milan, five days later.
The court heard Muhammad, who was born in Pakistan but had an Italian passport, was planning to detonate the bomb once on board the Boeing 737.
The "crude improvised explosive device'' was discovered by airport security when his hand luggage went through scanners at the airport.
But when airport security swabbed the bomb, there was no trace of explosives on the outside and officers did not believe it was a viable device.
It was initially kept in the pocket of Deborah Jeffrey, the security manager at terminal three, before being handed to police.
Muhammad, of Tinline Street, Bury, was questioned by officers from the counter terrorism unit but released.
He returned to the airport the following day to collect his mobile phone, which had been taken by police, and then again on February 5 when he boarded another flight to Italy.
It was only on February 8 when the device was examined by forensics officers that suspicions were raised and the bomb squad was called.
The explosive was then sent for examination by expert Lorna Philp, who found it was a crude but potentially viable improvised explosive device''.
The device contained double base smokeless propellant, normally found in firearms ammunition, which was made up of nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose.
Italian police raided Muhammad's home and workplace on February 9 and took him to a police station.
But he was released again after a couple of hours and on February 12 boarded another flight back to the UK.
He was arrested when he arrived back at Manchester Airport.
Muhammad had told the trial he was surprised to see the bomb when it was found in his bag and it had nothing "at all'' to do with him.
He told the court: "I had never seen it before.''
Muhammad, whose wife was in court throughout the trial, cried loudly as he was remanded in custody by Judge Patrick Field QC.
Following the sentencing, Sue Hemming, head of the special crime and counter terrorism division in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "Despite extensive investigation, Nadeem Muhammad's motive for attempting to take this device onto a plane remains unknown.
"However it is clear that the consequences, had he been successful, could have been disastrous.'
Commenting on the incident, Greater Manchester Police admit errors lead to Muhammad's initial release: "In this incident, a man was stopped at the airport security controls with a suspicious item in his luggage.
"The device was detected as it passed through the x-ray machine before being initially examined by specially trained staff, who on first examination assessed that it was unlikely to be viable. The man was then interviewed by officers and had his phone seized for assessment before being released.
"Based on the overall circumstances of his stop and the information presented at the time, police officers determined that there was not sufficient evidence or suspicion to arrest the man and place restrictions on his movement.
"Following subsequent forensic examination of the device carried out by police it was determined that it could be viable and the man was arrested at the first opportunity.
"We accept that there were some errors with our assessment of the device on the day and we have already reviewed our practices, however this incident has demonstrated the effectiveness of the airport security checks where the item was successfully detected and the passenger intercepted.
"The device itself was small and had less than 10 grams of gunpowder inside and it is not clear what it could have done.
"Immediately following the incident, we have reviewed the way we respond to suspicious items found during the security process and a number of changes have been made. The enhanced protocols have been successfully tested on a number of occasions in the last few months.