Afghan hijacker found working at Heathrow 'ransacked travel agency in a rage'

One of the Afghans involved in the Stansted hijacking was back in court yesterday  -  accused of ransacking a travel agency.

During a violent argument with his landlord, Nazamuddin Mohammidy allegedly hurled a metal chair, smashed a computer and fought with staff until police arrived.

The 34-year-old was one of nine men who hijacked an airliner in Afghanistan in 2000 before landing in Britain and threatening to kill all 160 passengers unless they were granted asylum.

The gang were jailed, but cleared on appeal and freed to live comfortable lives on benefits worth £150,000 a year.

Last week, it emerged Mohammidy was working at Heathrow as a cleaner and had been given a British Airways security pass.

The latest charge of assault was unrelated to either the hijacking or the revelation of his job at Heathrow, magistrates in Ealing, West London, heard.

Mohammidy is said to have stormed into the Pamzee Airlines travel agency in West London on December 13 last year and started an argument with owner Manjit Komal.

Mohammidy rented a room above the shop and Mr Komal was his landlord. Mohammidy was complaining about the heating not working, but Mr Komal said he had infuriated the other tenants by constantly turning the temperature up to 30c (86f).

The pair came to blows and an enraged Mohammidy allegedly grappled across the counter with Mr Komal's 20-year- old son Amardeep and threw a chair at his head.

After the fight, Amardeep had a gash to his leg needing stitches and Mohammidy was bleeding from a wound on his forehead.

Olu Phillips, prosecuting, said: 'In the course of the struggle, there was damage to property in the shop floor.'

A computer monitor, display case and a wall were smashed causing £2,000 of damage, he said.

Mr Komal told the court: 'He came into the shop and I saw him throw a chair at my son. The chair hit him. They were holding each other and both fell on the floor. He was hitting my son.

'I held his arm and put my knee on him and was calling to the staff to call the police. I saw blood on the floor.'

Sarah Lewis, defending, said Mr Komal and his son attacked her client. She said Mohammidy was a man of good character who had been making a justified complaint to his landlord about the heating.

Mohammidy denies assault and criminal damage and the trial continues. Last week, he was at the centre of what the Conservatives called a devastating breach of security by being allowed to work at Heathrow.

His job cleaning BA offices did not give him access to planes but he did have a pass for secure areas. The pass has since been taken from him.

In 2001, Mohammidy, his brothers Ali and Mohammed Safi and six other Afghans were jailed for hijacking the Boeing 727 and flying to Stansted.

But in 2003 the Court of Appeal ruled the convictions were unsafe and the men were released.

They moved into large private homes in Hounslow with their wives and children. In 2006, the gang were given 'discretionary leave' to remain in Britain as Afghanistan was 'unsafe' to return to.