Pakistan-born Italian jailed for 18 years for trying to board flight with pipe bomb

Nadeem Muhammad was trying to board Ryanair flight to Italy when security discovered explosive

A Pakistan-born Italian citizen who tried to smuggle a pipe-bomb onto a flight from Britain's Manchester Airport was jailed on Wednesday for 18 years for possessing explosives with intent to endanger life.

Nadeem Muhammad, 43, was trying to board a Ryanair flight to Italy on January 30 when security officials discovered the explosive device hidden in his carry-on luggage. Built inside a sealed marker pen barrel, the bomb had been designed to be activated manually.

Nadeem said that one of his children - the oldest of whom is 11-years-old – probably put the pipe bomb in his luggage. But prosecutors said Muhammad intended to detonate the device during the Ryanair flight.



"Today, Nadeem Muhammad was given an 18 year prison sentence," the Crown Prosecution Service said in a tweet. The CPS added that a parole board would decide if he is safe to be released.

Once the sentence was given, the airport security was criticised by Judge Patrick Field QC for making a "wholly erroneous and potentially dangerous" conclusion that the bomb, after it was seized by officers, was not viable, the Independent reported.

Nadeem Muhammad. PHOTO: INDEPENDENT

He condemned terminal three security manager Deborah Jeffrey who put the device in her pocket after initial swab showed no trace of explosives - the device was later found to contain nitroglycerin.

"It occurred to me and I'm sure to others listening to that evidence that by acting that way she put herself, her fellow employees and members of the public at risk."



"In these dangerous times it seems to me there's no room for complacency," he said. "I express hope that security at the airport and policing at the airport will be subject to a review at the highest level."

According to the news site, the judge added that the police missed an "early opportunity" to arrest the suspect based on airport security's assurance that the device was not viable. Consequently, Nadeem was allowed to travel to and back from Italy until his arrest on February 12.