Man Jailed For Wedding Bomb Hoax

11 October 2012, 18:39 | Updated: 11 October 2012, 18:43

A 28-year-old man who air freighted a fake bomb in order to disrupt his sister's wedding in Turkey has been jailed for four years.

Jurors convicted Hasan Aydemir after hearing how he posted the gift-wrapped parcel with a decorative bow on the top from a branch of UPS in Camden, north London, telling staff it contained a watch and a teddy and they were a present.

It was addressed to the wedding hall in the Gungoren area of Istanbul where his sister was due to be married three days later, and included instructions for it to be placed on the top table.

Attached to the package was a piece of white paper bearing the words which translated into English as: "Leave the package on the table of the bride and groom on 20/03/2011. The package is my gift to Hatice-Metin."

Aydemir also phoned the reception hall to ensure that his instructions to take delivery of the parcel were carried out.

Jurors heard that when Aydemir sent the parcel on March 17 last year, he was locked in a family dispute about his sister's wedding and hoped to disrupt the service by sending the hoax bomb.

But his plan was foiled when the package was inspected at Ataturk Airport by a customs officer who found it contained a device made up from a clock and pieces of different coloured wire and putty designed to look like a bomb.

Bomb disposal experts were called before the item was declared to be a hoax. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command investigated the incident and identified the sender of the parcel as Aydemir.

Although he had used false details on the forms, they were able to identify him through CCTV footage and phone records and officers arrested him at his home address on March 23 last year.

Detectives seized a mobile phone during the search of the house, which contained text messages demonstrating his opposition to the marriage.

Aydemir, of Allington Avenue, Haringey, north London, denied making a bomb hoax but was found guilty following a four-day trial at Blackfriars Crown Court.