AN ENDURING THREAT: EUROPE’S ISLAMIST TERROR NETWORKS THEN AND NOW Bio: An Algerian, Maroni travelled to Afghanistan in 1998 and stayed there until August 2000 when he travelled to the UK and claimed asylum, moving to Sheffield where he claimed to be an odd-job man and dealt cannabis. He is believed to have associated with Sabour and Salim Boukhari before moving to 831 Frankfurt in November with Boukhari using false or stolen documentation. In Frankfurt, the two men 832 met up with Sabour, Aeroubi Beandali and Mohamed Bensakhria. During December, he and the other men purchased chemicals used for bomb-making and filmed a reconnaissance tape, as well as contacting Abu Doha to request additional funds. After the phone call, and surveillance which suggested the men were moving weapons, they were arrested on 26 December 2000, with the police finding explosives, firearms, fake and stolen IDs and a significant haul of hashish. His UK flat was raided soon after, and the 833 explosive TATP was found there. Charged with conspiracy to murder, Maroni was convicted in March 834 2003 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Foreign training/combat: Maroni spent two years in Afghanistan between 1998 and 2000 and was taught how to build bombs. Movements: Afghanistan (1998-2000); UK (August 2000); Germany (November 2000). Criminal history: 835 Maroni dealt cannabis while in the UK and Italian authorities have suggested he may 836 837 have been convicted of robbery. Convicted of conspiracy to murder in March 2003. Known to the authorities: Maroni appears to have come to the attention of the authorities after French 838 intelligence alerted German authorities to the plot, after which the group came under surveillance. Networks and associates: -! The ‘Frankfurt Cell’: Fouhad Sabour, Salim Boukhari, Aeroubi Beandali [Convicted alongside 839 as members of the ‘Frankfurt cell’ in March 2003]; Mohamed Bensakhria, Slimane Khalfaoui, Rabah Kadre, Yacine Aknouche, Lazhar Ben Mohammed Tlili, Abdelkader Tcharek, Merouane Berrahal, Laurent Mourad Djoumakh, Samir Korchi, Nicolas Belloni [‘Frankfurt cell’ members 840 convicted in December 2004]. Abu Doha network: -! Abu Doha [Doha was contacted by the cell members to request more money 841 in late December 2000]. ! ! 831 Harris, P. et al., ‘Al-Qaeda's bombers used Britain to plot slaughter’, Guardian, 21 April 2002. 832 Finn, P., ‘Five Linked to Al Qaeda Face Trial in Germany’, The Washington Post, 15 April 2002. 833 Harris, P. et al., ‘Al-Qaeda's bombers used Britain to plot slaughter’, Guardian, 21 April 2002. 834 ‘Strasbourg bomb plotters jailed’, BBC News, 10 March 2003, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2835587.stm; and Simcox, R. et al., ‘Islamist Terrorism: The British Connections’, The Henry Jackson Society (2011), p. 361. 835 Harris, P. et al., ‘Al-Qaeda's bombers used Britain to plot slaughter’, Guardian, 21 April 2002. 836 Finn, P., ‘Five Linked to Al Qaeda Face Trial in Germany’, The Washington Post, 15 April 2002. 837 ‘Strasbourg bomb plotters jailed’, BBC News, 10 March 2003. 838 Finn, P., ‘Five Linked to Al Qaeda Face Trial in Germany’, The Washington Post, 15 April 2002. 839 Boyes, R., ‘Algerians jailed for Christmas bomb plot’, The Times, 11 March 2003; and Tremlett, G, ‘Spanish police arrest Bin Laden suspect’, Guardian, 23 June 2001. 840 ‘French court convicts group in Strasbourg Christmas market bomb’, Agence France Presse, 16 December 2004. 841 Harris, P. et al., ‘Al-Qaeda's bombers used Britain to plot slaughter’, Guardian, 21 April 2002. ! ! 67 !