The unprecedented security operation

The intricate intelligence operation that led to the arrest of a London man over a plot to supply a surface-to-air missile to terrorists was revealed today.

It involved an unprecedented effort by the American, Russian and British security services and is being described as a major breakthrough in the international fight against terror.

MI5 and MI6 joined forces with the Russian secret service FSB and the FBI.

It began in April, when the Russian authorities became aware of an arms dealer attempting to buy an Igla shoulder-held missile on the black market in St Petersburg and Moscow. He was kept under close surveillance. Russian president Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead for the FBI to send one of their undercover agents to Russia to work with the FSB.

In a recorded conversation with undercover agents the dealer allegedly said he hoped the missile would be used by terrorists to shoot down President Bush's plane, Air Force One.

There followed an elaborate set-up in which the man, named as Hekmat Lakhani, a middle-aged Londoner of Indian origin, was fooled into believing he was buying the missile for $85,000 (£53,000) from someone he thought was a corrupt Russian officer at an arms factory. He also obtained a promise of another 50 missiles.

But his contact was in fact an undercover government officer and what he received was a deactivated Igla missile which was shipped from Russia to Baltimore disguised as medical goods.

When the arms dealer flew to New York with his wife last Sunday, at 13.30, on a British Airways flight from Heathrow, he was followed by an FBI agent.

The trap was sprung when he landed at New Jersey. He was arrested at a hotel in Newark after collecting the package marked "medical supplies" which had been kept under the constant watch of customs officers.

Two more people, said to be gem dealers from Afghanistan, were later picked up in New York. They were accused of preparing to act as money-launderers for the deal.

BBC correspondent Tom Mangold said: "The man behind the operation was looking for terrorists who would fire the missile at Air Force One.

"He was arrested after collecting a crate shipped to a warehouse from Russia. It contained what appeared to be an Igla missile."

Of the joint operation between the FBI and FSB, Mangold said: "Old enemies really have joined hands."

The British consulate was informed of the arms dealer's arrest and he is due to appear in a Newark court later today.

US sources said Lakhani was subjected to close surveillance from the start of the operation and had not made contact with any known Islamic organisation. "It was a controlled situation right from the beginning," said a security source.

The sting may well bring long-term security benefits to Russian and the US.

Putin has long been keen to persuade the West that he should be allowed to tackle the "terrorist" problem in Chechnya in his own way. There are huge stocks of unguarded weapons in Russia that the West has long feared could fall into the hands of terror groups. Many independent experts insist these huge stocks of missiles, chemical and biological weapons, present more of a threat than that of "rogue states" such as Iraq.

Chechen rebels obtain a large part of their hardwear from Russia itself, buying supplies of weapons from disgruntled members of Russia's armed forces who go unpaid for months.

The other source is the Russian mafia, able to buy increasingly sophisticated weapons, and nuclear material, on the black market in Russia and former Soviet satellite countries.

America complained last year that Iraq had bought Ukrainian air defence missiles and it has proved impossible to keep track of weaponry manufactured in the region.

This has caused a headache for Western intelligence agencies because of rebel links with Middle Eastern terrorist groups. The fear is that Middle Eastern groups, who are behind much of the funding of the Chechen rebels, may in return get access to their weapons. US secretary of state Colin Powell has put Chechen leader Shamil Basayev on America's terrorist list.

Moscow has long claimed that the rebels are backed by Middle Eastern terrorist groups, citing the presence of Arab volunteers fighting alongside Chechen forces. There are similarities in design of suicide belts worn by Chechen "Black Widows" suicide bombers and Palestinian bombers in Israel.