A British national, Jermaine Grant, has been deported to the UK following the completion of a lengthy prison sentence in Kenya. Grant, 41, was arrested upon arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport on Thursday after flying in from Nairobi.
Grant’s legal troubles began in 2011 when Kenyan authorities discovered bomb-making materials in his apartment in Mombasa, a coastal city. At the time of his arrest, he was believed to be sharing the residence with Samantha Lewthwaite, infamously known as the “White Widow.” Lewthwaite is wanted in connection with the 7/7 bombings in London.
Kenyan police accused Grant of planning to bomb tourist hotels along the country’s coast. Although he was acquitted of conspiracy charges in 2019, a court found him guilty of possessing bomb-making materials.
On Friday, the UK’s Metropolitan Police confirmed that Grant had been detained under the Terrorism Act. “We can confirm that on 8 August, officers from the Met Police arrested a 41-year-old man wanted on recall to prison for breaching licence conditions linked to a previous conviction,” said the force in a statement. Grant was arrested at Heathrow Airport upon his return from Kenya. His licence conditions had been revoked in August 2005 following an initial breach.
In addition to his arrest, Grant is also suspected of being a member of al-Shabab, an Islamist militant group based in Somalia. He remains in police custody.
Samantha Lewthwaite, who has been on the run since 2011, is still wanted by police in both Kenya and the UK. Dubbed the “White Widow” after the death of her husband, London suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, Lewthwaite is a Muslim convert who grew up in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. She is suspected of having links to al-Shabab and involvement in several attacks.
Grant is believed to have become radicalized while serving time in prison with Richard Reid, the notorious “shoe bomber.” Reid is currently serving a life sentence in the US for attempting to blow up a transatlantic flight using explosives hidden in his shoe.