British businessman sentenced in US weapons case
Posted on: Monday, 12 September 2005, 17:14 CDT
NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court judge on Monday sentenced British businessman Hemant Lakhani to 47 years in prison for providing financial support for terrorist activities against the United States.
Prosecutors say Lakhani, 70, tried to sell a shoulder-fired missile to a man posing as a terrorist group member. He was found guilty in April of attempting to support terrorism, illegal arms brokering, money laundering and other charges.
Lakhani, who had faced a maximum sentence of 67 years, has maintained he was set up in a sting operation.
"It's a total lie," he said, holding his head in his hands, at the defense table in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J.
His conviction was considered one of the more significant victories for the U.S. Justice Department since the September 11, 2001 attacks and the launch of the U.S.-led war on terror.
Lakhani, his attorney, Henry Klingeman, and his wife pleaded for leniency, noting he is elderly and wants to return home to Britain.
"Mr. Lakhani is not entitled to leniency. He's entitled to fairness," U.S. District Court Judge Katharine Hayden said in handing down the sentence.
Lakhani was arrested two years ago after U.S. Customs officers and FBI agents stormed a New Jersey hotel room and found him showing a "sample" shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile to an informant posing as a member of a Somali militant group.
The arrest was the culmination of a 22-month sting spanning three continents.
The Indian-born clothing merchant has claimed he was a victim of entrapment because the buyer was an FBI informant and the missile sellers were undercover Russian agents.
Prosecutors said Lakhani had agreed to sell as many as 200 missiles to the informant and that he believed they would be used to shoot down U.S. airliners.
They said evidence showed he was a willing participant in the scheme, that he associated with a reputed terrorist and tried to broker other arms deals negotiated during 200 phone calls with the informant and 12 trips to Russia and Ukraine.
Source: REUTERS
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