New York City private-sector security companies were given a terrorism briefing by the NYPD yesterday and told to learn from newly obtained intelligence data gleaned from England’s top terror suspect.
Several hundred corporate officials responsible for safeguarding New York were given an inside peek into the playbook of Dhiren Barot – who had plans to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and other key financial buildings.
Barot, 34, also known as Abu Esa al-Hindi, was busted in August 2004 after British officials uncovered several plots to attack high-profile targets in London as well as New York and Washington.
After he was arrested, authorities gained access to his notes, which detailed his reconnaissance efforts in New York during 2000 and 2001 and revealed the special attention he paid to security measures taken to protect individual buildings.
“The most obvious technique to utilize that comes to mind . . . would be a limousine in the VIP underground[parking lot],” the operative, Dhiren Barot, wrote in a memo about the Prudential Building in Newark.
Barot also suggested that “arson may be the best choice” and advised “ramming trucks (oil tankers, etc.) straight through the glass front entrance into the lobby area.”
Barot, a Muslim convert, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mass murder in England and was sentenced to life in prison last week.
It is unclear if and when he will be extradited back to the U.S. to face charges on of conspiracy and providing support to terrorists.
Among other topics discussed during Thursday’s confab was the trend toward the use of women bombers, surveillance strategies used by al-Qaeda, and the use of vehicles phony but official-looking ambulances, limousines and commercial vans to carry out terrorist attacks.
“The threat posed by women is real and should not be overlooked,” NYPD Intelligence Research Specialist Rebecca Weiner said.
Another concern is the use of what the NYPD calls “cloned” vehicles, a practice that has been very successful in the past.
Yesterday’s meeting was part of an initiative dubbed NYPD Shield that is designed to sharpen corporate security heads to be alert for unusual activities and possible ploys terrorists use to carry out their atrocities.
With Post Wire Services
—
Signs of a bomb plot:
* Unusual, prolonged interest by the same person in a particular location
* A person repeatedly seen watching police responses at a site
* An increase in bomb threats in the vicinity (possible sign of a diversion)
* New vendors or panhandlers in area
* Vehicles, especially vans, with no company phone numbers listed
Source: NYPD