Andrew Rowe Ladbroke Grove Mosque

A British born "international warrior" who waged terror campaigns across the globe before being caught at the Channel Tunnel with explosives on his socks was jailed for 15 years today. Petty drugs dealer turned Al Qaeda weapons expert Andrew Rowe, 34, converted to Islam and became a well reputed jihad fighter with worldwide warzone contacts including known terrorists, the Old Bailey heard. After fighting in Bosnia in 1995 he turned his trade to conflicts in Chechnya and the far east, supporting militant Islam in its war against its perceived enemies.

Using multiple passports, Rowe travelled to countries including Afganistan, Pakistan, Georgia, the balkans, Saudi Arabia, Morrocco, Thailand and Malaysia.

Malaysian security sources believe that Rowe was involved in a plan to mortar bomb Heathrow airport, which was cordoned off by the army in February 2003, six months before his arrest. British police would not confirm the allegation.

Rowe, who used a number of identities including the nom de guerre "Yusef the Jamaican", is also thought to have been carrying out recruitment missions for the cause as he travelled between the warzones.

He was put under police surveillance but left the country in August 2003. That same month his west London home was searched and police discovered a notebook in his handwriting giving detailed instructions on aiming and operating a mortar.

His name was placed on a border control watch list and in October 2003 he was arrested trying to return to the UK through the Channel Tunnel. He had been in Frankfurt where he is believed to have met up with Lionel Dumont - a French terror suspect who had plotted to bomb the G7 summit in Lyon in 1997.

Dumont was the head of the Roubaix gang, a violent group of French Algerians who carried out a series of bank raids in the 1990s for funding. Dumont also fought in Bosnia where he was sent to prison for 20 years after being convicted of murdering a policeman. He escaped from prison in 1999 and vanished.

When Rowe's luggage was searched on the French side of the tunnel, police discovered a pair of socks wrapped in a ball with a 1.5 metre cord attached. The socks had traces of high explosives on them including TNT, PETN, RDX and nitrogylcerine - and would have been ideal for cleaning a mortar.

Rowe claimed that the socks had been contaminated with explosives when he was in Bosnia but denied they were for terrorism, saying in fact they were a martial arts aid. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on this count against him.

After his arrest his estranged wife's house in Birmingham was searched, and hidden in a cupboard police found a list of codes in Rowe's handwriting. The code enabled sensitive messages containing words such as
"explosives", "military base" and "airplane crew" to be substituted for the model numbers of mobile phones.

Other words on the list included "target one", "target two" and "target three", as well as the ingredients of the home made explosives recently used in the London terror attacks. Rowe had made a list of English counties, used for substition with foreign countries, such as Bosnia and Kent, Poland and Essex, Hungary and Dorset and Yugoslavia and Derbyshire.

Officers also found a collection of extremist Islam videos, featuring Osama bin Laden and the recorded wills of the 9/11 bombers. The films urged young Muslims to fight against the west.

The code, "a shopping list for terrorism", could not have been written before March 2003 and police believe martial arts expert Rowe was planning further attacks, although are unable to specify a target.

Rowe, of Maida Vale, west London, denied three counts of possessing an article for terrorist purposes.

He was convicted of two, with the unable to decide on a count relating to whether or not the socks were for terrorist purposes. A retrial was not sought on that charge.

The court heard how Rowe had become interested in Islam in the 1990s after leading a life of petty crime. He had converted, taking the name Yusef Abdullah, and attended the Ladbroke Grove mosque where he was radicalised before heading off to fight in Bosnia in 1995.

Rowe was injured by a mortar shell that same year and spent months in a field hospital. He then returned to the UK
with his medical notes which listed him under a nickname and his position as a "freedom fighter".

Over the next eight years Rowe travelled extensively to terrorist hotspots, at one point being turned away at Gatwick airport when he was headed for Georgia in possession of $12,000.

During the trial he admitted that he had been planning to courier explosives to Chechnya and accepted that the code had been for that purpose - but claimed he had been a freedom fighter rather than a terrorist.

He admitted that he had no source of income other than benefits, and was claiming invalidity benefit since 2001 -but never touched a penny of it. Shortly before heading off to Frankfurt he withdrew all of it - over £7000.

Police believe that Rowe must have been receiving funding from a terror support network.

A senior security source said of Rowe: "It seems Rowe is truly an internationl warrior. Look at his travel patterns over ten years - he had been travelling the world in pursuit of his cause.

"He is not somebody I would characterise as being UK based with a UK based support network. He is a very well connected individual.

"He is well connected and a committed and dedicated jihadist. I have no doubt at all he is potentially a very violent man. I would say he is an important person and he has a degree of importance because of his reputation - he is well known in jihadist circles."

Asked if Rowe was linked to Al Qaeda the source replied: "It's entirely possible - his methodology bears all the hallmarks of Al Qaeda and the standard operational measures they teach their people to use."

Although there is nothing to indicate where Rowe was planning to strike next, the source said: "A lot of the evidence is historical and painted a picture of a committed jihadist. The thing which is concerning is that the codes were made after March 2003 and if you look at the things on it its explosives, airports, aircrews, etc.

"The only sensible conclusion anyone can draw from this is this was a means of communicating with other extremists with a view to committing violent attacks in the future.

"We can't say x or y was going to be a target but it's reasonable to conclude he was intent on continuing his extremist and terrorist activity."

A British Muslim convert who was detained at the Channel tunnel on terror charges has been jailed for 15 years.

He was found guilty of two charges of having articles for use in terrorism.

Andrew Rowe, 34, was convicted at the Old Bailey of having a notebook containing details on how to fire mortar bombs and a code for terrorism.

The court was also told that socks in his possession had traces of three explsives.

The prosecution had alleged that the socks, rolled into a ball and attached to a cord, could have been used as a mortar bung or to clean a mortar tube.

Rowe told the jury he had used it for a target for martial arts kicks and that traces of explosives found on the ball were from his trip to Bosnia in 1995.

The book and code were found at addresses associated with him in London and Birmingham, the court was told.

Searches of his homes in London and Birmingham revealed a notebook filled with instructions on how to operate mortar bombs, and a secret code made up of mobile phone models.

A search of his former flat in west London in August 2003, resulted in police finding a WH Smith notebook with 22 pages of hand-written notes on how to aim and fire a mortar.

Following his arrest, the court was told, officers went to his estranged wife's home in Ash Road, Birmingham, and found a piece of paper containing the code.

Rowe had travelled extensively after converting to Islam. He had been to places of conflict and was said to have had four passports in seven years.

The jury of six men and six women could not agree on a third charge of having socks, adapted with a cord, for terrorist purposes.

The trial was adjourned to this afternoon for the prosecution to decide if there should be a retrial.