http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2784959/London-student-in-jet-bomb-bid.html
By STAFF REPORTERS
Published: 26 Dec 2009
THE former London student charged with attempting to blow up a transatlantic jet had been barred from Britain earlier this year, it has emerged.
Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, who was travelling from Nigeria, tried to ignite a "powdery substance" on a flight from Amsterdam as it began to land at Detroit.
He set off a firecracker on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers
A fresh visa request was refused in May when it came to light he had applied for a bogus course, Whitehall sources said.
The 23-year-old son of a wealthy Nigerian banker was charged in hospital on Saturday night with attempting to destroy the aircraft carrying 278 passengers.
Do you know Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? Did you go to university with him? If so call the newsdesk on 0207 7824104Email
exclusive@the-sun.co.uk
Mutallab had the device attached to his body when he boarded the aircraft in Amsterdam on Christmas Eve, according to a court affidavit.
A passenger hailed as a hero after tackling the airliner terror suspect said: "I didn't hesitate, I just jumped."
Jasper Schuringa, a 32-year-old film maker from Amsterdam, was applauded by fellow passengers after he and cabin crew subdued Mutallab as the flight as about to land at Detroit airport.
Mr Schuringa was sitting one row behind the suspect but on the other side of the plane when he heard what he said sounded like a firecracker going off.
He told America's CNN news channel he heard a sound that reminded him of a firecracker and someone yelling, "Fire! Fire!"
He said: "I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away.
"My hands are pretty burned (but) I am fine. I am shaken up. I am happy to be here.
"When (it) went off, everybody panicked then somebody screamed, 'Fire! Fire!"'
Looking across the plane, he saw smoke rising from a seat. "I didn't hesitate. I just jumped," he said.
Diving over four intervening passengers, he said his suspicions grew when he found the suspect doing nothing despite having a smoking blanket on his lap and flames "coming from beneath his legs".
Mr Schuringa said he frisked the suspect and discovered his trousers were open and that he had a flaming object resembling a small, white shampoo bottle strapped to his left leg near his crotch.
"I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," he told CNN.
Mr Schuringa said he patted out the fire with his hands and shouted for water.
As cabin crew arrived with fire extinguishers, the Dutchman hauled the suspect out of his seat and, restraining him in a choke lock, took him to the first class compartment.
It has also emerged that Mutallab's dad had voiced concerns to US officials about his son.
The father warned US authorities last month about his son's extreme views, say officials.
The engineering student from University College of London is currently under guard at a Michigan hospital.
He was enrolled on a mechanical engineering course at the institution between September 2005 and June 2008.
A spokesman for the university said: "It must be stressed that the university has no evidence that this is the same person currently being referred to in the media.
"Until the situation becomes clearer, UCL will not be making any further comment."
Reports also claimed the suspect had been in a law enforcement-intelligence database but was not on the government's no-fly list.
He was flying to the US for a religious ceremony according to his entry visa, ABC News said, which was issued on June 16 last year and valid until June 12, 2010.
The suspect was early today being quizzed by police and the FBI after he told them he had connections to al-Qaeda.
It also emerged that US authorities are now liaising with anti-terror officers at Scotland Yard over the suspected attack and addresses in central London near the UCL campus were being searched today.
Witnesses on the flight said they heard a sound like a firecracker going off and one passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue one of the passengers.
Panic
Shortly afterwards, the supect was apparently taken from the front row seat with his trousers cut off. He suffered second degree burns and was treated for his injuries at a local hospital.
Passenger Syed Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the suspect and saw a glow and smelled smoke. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him".
"Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic," he said.
Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the passenger was subdued immediately.
A senior intelligence official said: "He claimed the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used."
Advertisement
The man was taken into custody at Detroit airport.
News also emerged that a prominent Nigerian banker was meeting security officials in the country's capital, Abuja, amid suspicions his son may be the man who tried to bomb the passenger jet.
Alhaji Umaru Mutallab confirmed his 23-year-old son may be the man connected with the failed plot.
He also said he had travelled from his home in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated north to meet officials in Abuja.
He said his son left London - where he was a student - to travel, though he did not know where to.
Mr Mutallab Snr - a former minister and chairman of First Bank in Nigeria - said: "I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that."
The father and several relatives were listed as living at the central London property which was searched by police today.
US President Barack Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, was "actively monitoring", the situation.
Mr Obama spoke by conference call with national security advisers and then he "instructed that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel", a White House spokesman said.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "We are in liaison with the US authorities. Searches are being conducted as part of ongoing inquiries."
She could not confirm whether the suspect was a student at a London university or whether he was known to UK police.
The incident is reminiscent of a terror attempt by "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, a Briton who tried to destroy a transatlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes.
The Prime Minister said today he would take "whatever action was necessary" to protect passengers after the jet scare.
Gordon Brown said he had been contact with Sir Paul Stephenson, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, because of the "serious potential threat".
The Prime Minister said: "The security of the public must always be our primary concern. We have been working closely with the US authorities investigating this incident since it happened yesterday.
"Because of the serious potential threat posed by the incident, I have spoken to the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, whose officers have been carrying out searches of properties in London.
"We will continue to take whatever action is necessary to protect passengers on airlines and the public."
Meanwhile Britons travelling to the US today were told their hand baggage allowance had been reduced to one item following the terror alert.
American Government officials issued "revised security arrangements" relating to all flights after the scare, British Airways said.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>What I find a wee bit absurd is the second to last line in the article:
Meanwhile Britons travelling to the US today were told their hand baggage allowance had been reduced to one item following the terror alert.
Forget that this rich-kid nut-job had the explosive mixture sewn into his drawers , near his testicles, to avoid discovery....... But increase the prohibative bans upon all passengers.
There's a reason why profiling is effective. Sadly the PC embracing jerks of the work prefer to ignore reality whilst they flitter along in their own private delusion........ Worse is that the public en masse must live with the the products of their delusions.........
