Antony Piazza, formerly known as Houshang Nazemi. His name change resembles that of David Coleman Headley, aka Daood Gilani, who changed his name in the belief that a non-Islamic name would make it easier for him to engage in jihad activity without detection.
“Man, 71, facing charges after bomb-making materials found at Montreal airport,” from CTV News, October 28 (thanks to Traduction):
A 71-year-old Iranian-born man is facing three criminal charges after bomb-making elements were found inside a passenger’s carry-on luggage at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport on Sunday.
Antony Piazza, whose name was legally changed from Houshang Nazemi, made a brief court appearance on Monday afternoon.
Under his original name, Piazza received a 10-year sentence for drug-trafficking in the mid-1980s.
He is facing charges of being in possession of an explosive substance, conspiracy to transport an explosive substance on an airplane, and endangering the safety of an airport or aircraft.
The charges come after airport screening officers spotted a suspicious item in a passenger’s carry-on luggage around 5:40 a.m. on Sunday.
Police shut down the security screening area at the airport’s U.S. departure zone for three hours and interviewed everyone on board the suspect’s U.S.-bound flight. Sixteen flights were delayed as a result.
Police said Monday that the carry-on bag contained “everything” needed to construct a bomb — except the actual explosives. They did not release details of the elements found, but said they were not considered dangerous on their own.
“Everything was there to make us believe a bomb, an explosive device,” police spokesperson Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere told The Canadian Press.
“The explosive was not found, but even then everything was there to make us believe this.”
Piazza’s defence lawyer, Louis Morena, told reporters his client was holding the carry-on bag for someone else.Police also searched a duplex and vehicle belonging to the suspect late Sunday, leading to the evacuation of surrounding homes. They said nothing of interest was found.