Click to play videoNew York: America's top counter-terrorism officer has said that Lashkar-e-Toiba operative and a key 26/11 Mumbai terror attack conspirator David Coleman Headley was tracked and arrested after being on the radar for several weeks.
Deputy Police Commissioner for Counter-terrorism for the NYPD Richard Falkenrath spoke exclusively to CNN.
Charged on several counts in the US, Headley reportedly attended terrorist training camps in Pakistan. He was on United States of America's federal authorities' radar for various reasons including drug smuggling.
"He was on somebody's radar screen. He was certainly on the DEA's radar screen, but the focus on him really did not begin until later well after he'd attended the terrorism training camps that he now admits he attended. And everyone in the business of counter-terrorism would like to catch these things earlier, of course, before anyone is able to carry out surveillance in preparation to an attack. And in this case, it's now apparent that we didn't get on to him early enough," said Richard Falkenrath.
The Justice Department has confirmed that Headley, a US citizen from Chicago, has been charged with helping plan the bloody terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 in which 160 people including six Americans were killed.
Headley is now in federal custody but no arraignment date has been set.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
 |
 |
 |
|
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.