Khawaja talked with plot leader about detonator: Crown audiotape

le b Mohammad Momin Khawaja discussed how to work an electronic detonation device with the British leader of a foiled bomb plot, according to an audiotape played Thursday by the Crown at his trial in Ottawa.

The recording, made by the U.K. security service MI-5, indicates Khawaja offered a description of the device to Omar Khyam during a visit to England in February 2004.

In the recording, Khawaja, the first person charged under Canada's Anti-terrorism Act, can be heard outlining the operation of a transmitter and receiver and how to send a signal from one to the other.

"All you need to do is this - if you have detonator wires hooked up - and that will send a charge down the line to whatever you're sending it to," Khawaja is heard saying on the tape.

In a separate recording - one of several made by the MI-5 during Khawaja's three-day visit to Britain using electronic bugs planted in Khyam's car and residence - Khawaja is heard telling Khyam that it would be easy to pass on his knowledge of electronics to others.

"I can teach you the theory of it, cover all the facts and all these other bits," he said. "Then in the summer I'll set up a course together, someone can deliver it to the grunts, of course."

Khawaja was also heard on yet another recording reminiscing about a training camp he attended in northern Pakistan the previous year.

In another development, undercover video footage and still photos shown in court showed Khawaja arriving at London's Heathrow airport on Feb. 20, 2004, where he was greeted by Khyam and his brother, Shujah Mahmood. Maps showing their movements, followed with a GPS tracking system, were also displayed.

However, much of the rest of the evidence presented was unclear or inaudible. At one point, Ontario Superior Court Justice Douglas Rutherford said, "I can't hear a thing," later adding, "I'm saying to myself a little prayer of thanks, at least I have a transcript."

Crown prosecutors have alleged Khawaja built a remote-controlled detonator intended for use in setting off fertilizer-based bombs at various sites across England, including a nightclub and energy facilities.

Khyam and four other men were convicted by a British court in 2007 of participating in the failed bombing plot and sentenced to life in prison.

Khawaja has pleaded not guilty and denies being part of the al-Qaeda-inspired plot.

Khawaja was a software developer working for the federal Foreign Affairs Department when he was arrested at his Ottawa home in 2004 as part of a British and Canadian investigation. He has been held in custody since then.

The trial is expected to run until October or November.