AN ENDURING THREAT: EUROPE’S ISLAMIST TERROR NETWORKS THEN AND NOW Ameroud, who along with his brothers is believed to have transitioned from petty crime to violent 1284 extremism, have all been connected to the network. 3.10 Criminality in the al-Qaeda-linked Networks Petty crime including drug use and fraud also features prominently in biographical details of members of the older al-Qaeda networks. Nizar Trabelsi, for example, who is alleged to have been involved with two 1285 major plots, had a history of petty crime, drug abuse and violence, while another key figure, Djamel 1286 Beghal, had helped organise a kidnapping in 2000. Beghal’s associates in the UK, Brahim Benmerzouga and Baghdad Meziane, had a history of fraud arrests and worked together to develop a vast 1287 credit card fraud, while several of those he is suggested to have recruited had a history of drug abuse or 1288 1289 1290 petty crime, including David Courtailler, Jerome Courtailler, and Richard Reid. Other cells, such as the Frankfurt cell which planned to attack the Strasbourg Christmas market were made up of members with similar histories of petty crime to the new IS networks. Mohammed 1291 Bensakhria, the group’s leader, is believed to have had a history of theft, assault, fraud and drug dealing, 1292 while Aerobi Beandali was known to the police as a drug dealer. Lamine Maroni dealt cannabis while 1293 1294 based in the UK on his return from Afghanistan and may have been convicted of robbery. Yacine 1295 Aknouche, meanwhile, had been arrested in Germany for credit card fraud and appears to have been 1296 involved in similar activity in the UK. Two of those connected to the cell as liaisons or logistical support also appear to have been involved in criminality, with Mohammed Aouani wanted by the Italian 1297 authorities for links to a smuggling gang and Lazhar Ben Mohammed Tlili connected to drug dealing 1298 1299 in Milan and the trafficking of explosives and identity papers. Other extremists profiled as part of the old al-Qaeda-linked networks had also been involved in petty crime before being radicalised, with Hisham bin Ali bin Amor convicted of drug offences in Italy before 1300 escaping from prison and travelling to live with his cousin. Others used petty crime to support them 1301 themselves. The LAX airport bomb plotter Ahmed Ressam stole suitcases and wallets from tourists and was also involved in the trafficking of stolen driver’s licence numbers, bank cards, social security 1302 cards, passports and other identity documents. In the UK, Brahim Benmerzouga and Baghdad Meziane used their well-developed fraud and forgery operation to fraudulently raise hundreds of thousands of ! ! 1284 Van Vlierden, G., ‘The Zerkani Network: Belgium’s Most Dangerous Jihadist Group’, The Jamestown Foundation, 12 April 2016. 1285 O’Neill, S. and Daniel McGrory, The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque (London: Harper Collins, 2006), p. 226; and Johnson, Z., ‘Chronology: The Plots; Bin Laden's Striker: The case of Nizar Trabelsi’, PBS Frontline, 25 January 2005. 1286 Laville, S., ‘Terrorist organised children's kidnap’, Guardian, 1 July 2005. 1287 ‘Britain's first al Qaida terrorists jailed’, Daily Mail Online. 1288 ‘Europe fears Islamic converts may give cover for extremism’, The New York Times, 19 July 2004. 1289 Rotella, S. and David Zucchino, ‘Embassy plot offers insight into terrorist recruitment, training’, The Chicago Tribune, 22 October 2001. 1290 O’Neill, S. and Daniel McGrory, The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque (London: Harper Collins, 2006) p. 219. 1291 Finn, P., ‘Five Linked to Al Qaeda Face Trial in Germany’, The Washington Post, 15 April 2002. 1292 Boyes, R., ‘Algerians jailed for Christmas bomb plot’, The Times, 11 March 2003. 1293 Harris, P. et al., ‘Al-Qaeda's bombers used Britain to plot slaughter’, Guardian, 21 April 2002. 1294 Finn, P., ‘Five Linked to Al Qaeda Face Trial in Germany’, The Washington Post, 15 April 2002. 1295 Burke, J., ‘Al-Qaeda trained hundreds from UK’, Guardian, 24 February 2002. 1296 Ulrich, A. et al., ‘The Changing Threat of Al-Qaida: How Widespread is Terrorism in Europe?’, Aus Dem Spiegel, 11 July 2005. 1297 ‘Libyan terrorism suspect remanded in custody in Germany’, Agence France Presse, 16 October 2001. 1298 ‘Tunisian May Hold Key to Guantanamo Trials’, CBS News, 13 November 2009. 1299 ‘The United States and Italy Designate Twenty-Five New Financiers of Terror’, US Department of the Treasury Press Release, 29 August 2002. 1300 ‘JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment’, United States Department of Defense, 1 October 2008; and ‘JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment’, United States Department of Defense, 1 October 2008; and Scheinkman, A. et al., ‘Hisham Bin Ali Bin Amor Sliti’ in ‘The Guantanamo Docket’, The New York Times. 1301 Heath, D., ‘Ahmed Ressam, mastermind of foiled LAX plot, gave up valuable details about al-Qaida without harsh interrogation’, The Center for Public Integrity, 3 June 2011, available at: https://www.publicintegrity.org/2011/06/03/4802/ahmed-ressam-mastermind-foiled-lax-plot-gave-valuable-details-about-al-qaida- without, last visited: 9 August 2016. 1302 ‘Ahmed Ressam’s Millennium Plot’, Frontline. ! ! 100 !