LONDON — In a victory for the most extensive counterterrorist investigation in British history, three men who plotted to blow up transatlantic airliners in a massive attack were sentenced Monday to life in prison.
The maximum terms were handed down in London’s Woolwich Crown Court a week after the men were found guilty of conspiring to smuggle liquid-based explosives onto several North America-bound jets. The plot, which authorities said was close to fruition, could have killed hundreds of people and prompted new security measures at airports worldwide.
“The intention was to perpetrate a terrorist outrage that would stand alongside the events of Sept. 11, 2001, in history,” Justice Richard Henriques told the court.
Sentenced were Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Assad Sarwar, 29, and Tanvir Hussain, 28, British-born men of Pakistani descent. In Britain’s judicial system, the men will be eligible for parole, but not before serving a minimum of 40 years for Ali, the ringleader, 36 years for Sarwar and 32 years for Hussain.
Their plot, uncovered in 2006, entailed smuggling volatile hydrogen-peroxide solutions, injected into plastic bottles, onto seven planes bound from London to cities including San Francisco, Toronto and New York. Once over the Atlantic, the men would assemble and detonate the bombs to blow the jetliners out of the sky.
