Three years before Pakistani terrorists struck Mumbai in 2008, federal agents in New York City investigated a tip that an American businessman was training in Pakistan with the group that later executed the attack.
The previously undisclosed allegations against David Coleman Headley, who became a key figure in the plot that killed 166 people, came from his wife after a domestic dispute that resulted in his arrest in 2005.
In three interviews with federal agents, Headley’s wife said that he was an active militant in the terrorist group Lashkar-i-Taiba, had trained extensively in its Pakistani camps, and had shopped for night-vision goggles and other equipment, according to officials and sources close to the case.
The wife also told agents that Headley had bragged of working as a paid U.S. informant while he trained with the terrorists in Pakistan, according to a person close to the case. ProPublica, a nonprofit news organization that researched the allegations, did not identify the wife to protect her safety.
Federal officials say the FBI “looked into” the tip, but they declined to say what, if any, action was taken.
Headley was jailed briefly in New York on charges of domestic assault but not prosecuted. He wasn’t arrested until 11 months after the Mumbai attack, when British intelligence alerted U.S. authorities that he was in contact with al-Qaeda operatives in Europe.
In the four years between the wife’s warning and Headley’s capture, Lashkar sent Headley on reconnaissance missions around the world. During five trips to Mumbai, he scouted targets for the attack — using his U.S. passport and cover as a businessman to circulate freely in areas frequented by Westerners.
He met in Pakistan with terrorist handlers, including a Pakistani army major accused of helping direct and fund his missions, according to court documents and anti-terrorism officials.
In March, Headley pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism in the Mumbai attacks and to a failed plot to take and behead hostages at a Danish newspaper. He is cooperating with authorities.
It is not clear from the available information whether a different response to the tip about Headley might have averted the Mumbai attacks. It is known that U.S. anti-terrorism officials warned Indian counterparts several times in 2008 about a possible attack on Mumbai, according to U.S. and Indian officials. The warnings included details, such as a threat to the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, which became a target, officials say.
FBI officials said they could not comment on the agency’s role in the case because of ongoing prosecutions in Chicago and overseas. A Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman declined to comment because of a policy against discussing informants.
Anti-terrorism officials noted that federal authorities in New York City are deluged with tips and warnings about suspected extremists.
“They get half-a-dozen leads a day like this,” a U.S. anti-terrorism official said. “People ratting out family members, people with grudges.”
