Terror accused plotted to bomb plane and to release lethal gas
Two brothers accused of planning an IS-inspired terrorist attack in Sydney plotted to put a bomb on a plane at Sydney Airport and separately planned to release lethal gas, a jury has been told.
Mahmoud Khayat, 34, and Khaled Mahmoud Khayat, 51, have pleaded not guilty to one charge each of conspiring to do an act in preparation/planning for a terrorist act, after they allegedly planned the acts from January 20, 2017 until their arrest on July 29, 2017.
On Monday, at the opening of a trial in the NSW Supreme Court, Crown prosecutor Lincoln Crowley, QC, said the conspiracy was “formed and developed” when the men used apps including Telegram to contact an older brother fighting alongside Islamic State in Syria, and another person called “The Controller” who has not been identified.
Mr Crowley said The Controller sent instructions on how to make the bomb and lethal gas, suggested possible places to deploy the gas, and gave tips about timing and weather conditions.
A jury of nine women and three men was told Khaled Khayat prepared ingredients for the gas at his home before taking it to Mahmoud Khayat’s home in Punchbowl, where a “test” was done in a carport. The pair were under police surveillance and were arrested that day.
Mr Crowley said the brothers were influenced by events in Syria, which “vibrated all the way through to the backyards of the accused men, their garages and their homes here in Sydney”.
He said the acts planned by the men would have been “designed to demonstrate to the unbelievers the righteousness of their particular belief in Islam”, but added, “the religion of Islam is not on trial here”.
Mr Crowley said the explosive – referred to in one message as “the gift” – was going to be placed on an Etihad flight hidden inside a meat mincer on July 15. He said the explosive was brought as far as the lobby of the airport before the plan was aborted.
The court heard one component of the device was bought on eBay, while other crucial elements were sent in a package from Turkey in mid-April 2017 using courier service DHL.
Mr Crowley said after the bomb was taken from the airport it was brought to a home in Surry Hills and dismantled. He said the components were placed in plastic bags which were stored in the garage of Khaled Khayat at Lakemba.
Police allegedly discovered the components in the garage two weeks later, with the fingerprints of both brothers on the plastic bags the pieces were wrapped in.
Mr Crowley said Khaled Khayat made “a range of extensive admissions” to police upon his arrest and said he was acting alone, while Mahmoud Khayat denied involvement in the plot.
He said police found a sermon on the phones of both brothers which said, in part, “god defeat all of the infidels, disbelievers” and “oh god bring down the airplanes”.
The trial continues before Justice Christine Adamson.
Source: The Age
