Security News > 2008 > May > Revealed: Afghan plane hijacker is now working as a cleaner at Heathrow
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=566734&in_page_id=1770&ct=5 By SAM GREENHILL Daily Mail 16th May 2008 Airport security was condemned as a joke last night after an Afghan involved in the Stansted hijacking was found to be working at Heathrow as a cleaner. Police arrested Nazamuddin Mohammidy at Terminal 5 where he showed his British Airways pass allowing him access to secure areas. The Tories said it was a breathtaking breach of security and demanded immediate action from the Government. Mohammidy, 34, was one of nine Afghans who won the right to live in Britain after hijacking a passenger flight in Afghanistan in 2000. The Boeing 727 was flown to Stansted in Essex where the captors threatened to kill the 160 passengers unless they were granted asylum. The gang was jailed but later released and given the right to remain in Britain rent-free, receiving 150,000 a year in benefits. It emerged police pulled over Mohammidy as he was driving round Terminal 5 because they thought he was an unlicensed cab driver. He told them he worked at the airport and they were stunned when they checked out his story and found he was a former hijacker. Mohammidy works for a contractor used by British Airways to clean its offices and training centre at Heathrow. The airline insisted he did not have an "airside" pass which would let him near planes, but his BA credentials did grant him access to restricted areas, it is understood. Yesterday Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "It is clear the Government do not have a grip on airport security. "This individual should patently not be permitted access to secure locations at our airports, and immediate checks must be made on all other employees." Tory aviation-spokesman Julian Brazier has written to Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick describing the breach as "beyond parody." After police pulled in Mohammidy at Terminal 5, they also discovered he was in breach of bail conditions over an assault charge. He is accused of beating up a former landlord and is due before magistrates on Monday. Earlier this week Mohammidy, who has been living in Hounslow, West London, appeared in court over the bail breach but magistrates in Uxbridge bailed him again. Scotland Yard confirmed the incident in which he was stopped at Heathrow. A spokesman said: "In December 2007 officers stopped and searched a man under section 44 of the Terrorism Act at Terminal 5. Inquiries revealed he was in breach of bail." British Airways said in a statement: "We have been helping the police with their inquiries into a man who is employed by our cleaning contractors. He does not work at the airport and does not hold an airside pass. He works at one of our properties about a mile away." _______________________________________________ Attend Black Hat USA, August 2-7 in Las Vegas, the world's premier technical event for ICT security experts. Featuring 40 hands-on training courses and 80 Briefings presentations with lots of new content and new tools. Network with 4,000 delegates from 50 nations. Visit product displays by 30 top sponsors in a relaxed setting. http://www.blackhat.com