'Would-be bomber bought wrong nail varnish remover' from Derby Asda, court hears
Munir Mohammed and co-accused Rowaida El-Hassan, who are on trial at the Old Bailey, both deny preparing terrorist acts.
Thursday 2 November 2017 22:04, UK
A would-be bomber bought the wrong type of nail varnish remover to make an explosive, a court has heard.
Munir Mohammed enlisted chemist Rowaida El-Hassan, who he met on a dating website, to help him make a bomb or a deadly ricin poison in December last year, it is alleged.
But he picked up an acetone-free bottle of nail varnish remover, rather than hydrogen peroxide, when shopping for chemical ingredients at an Asda store in Derby, the Old Bailey has been told.
Mohammed, a Sudanese immigrant, is said to have quickly formed an "emotional attachment and shared ideology" with fellow divorcee El-Hassan.
While the pair dated, between Derby and London, Mohammed allegedly made contact with an Islamic State commander and volunteered to carry out a terror attack in Britain.
A jury was shown footage from the supermarket, where Mohammed is said to have spoken to El-Hassan on the phone about what to buy.
She sent him a link to a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, the court heard.
Anne Whyte, prosecuting, told jurors Mohammed's till receipt showed he had bought a Sally Hansen acetone-free nail remover instead. The prosecution alleges he saw the word 'acetone' and assumed he was buying a TATP explosive component.
A week later, he allegedly visited Ace Discounts in Derby and looked at pressure cookers, which the prosecution said could contain explosives.
Mohammed was arrested on December 12.
The court was told that in a search of his home, police found two of the three components of TATP - hydrogen peroxide in a wardrobe, and a bottle of hydrochloric acid in the freezer.
In London, a police search at El-Hassan's home found an unopened bottle of high percentage instant drain cleaner containing sulphuric acid, which can be used to make explosives, alongside disposable face masks, jurors were told.
Mohammed told police he had planned to clean his car alloys with the hydrochloric acid and had been advised by El-Hassan to use hydrogen peroxide to treat a burn.
Mohammed, 36, from Derby, and El-Hassan, 33, from northwest London, deny preparing terrorist acts between November 2015 and December 2016.