Operation Crevice was a raid launched by Metropolitan and local police in England on the morning of 30 March 2004. It was in response to a report indicating cells of terrorists of Pakistani origin operating in the Thames Valley, Sussex, Surrey and Bedfordshire areas, the source of which was said to be an interception of an instruction sent from Al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan to militants in Britain. In March 2020 Jonathan Evans, Former Director General, MI5 gave an interview and citing one passage: 'The plot itself, however, appeared to be encouraged and fomented by al-Qa`ida in the tribal areas. It was one of the early ones we saw. It involved predominantly British citizens or British residents of Pakistani heritage, something which became something of a theme for this period'. The operation resulted in five men being found guilty in April 2007 of conspiring to cause explosions likely to endanger life. The arrests A number of arrests were made, and 1,300 pounds (600 kg) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which can be used to make bombs, were confiscated. The chemical was seized in a storage space in Hanwell in west London. One of the staff reported her suspicions as to the activity to the police and subject of a police audio clip (other issues are covered). At least six homes in Langley Green, Crawley, were searched, and an area was excavated at one site. A biscuit tin filled with aluminium powder, another potential bomb ingredient, was recovered behind a garden shed. The arrest of software engineer Momin Khawaja on 29 March 2004, in Ottawa, Canada, was reportedly related to Operation Crevice. He was reportedly experimenting with remote-controlled detonators. The court case against the men began in March 2006 and lasted till April 30, 2007. The jury was out for 27 days. The accused were named as: Salahuddin Amin, 31, from Luton, Bedfordshire Jawad Akbar, 22, from Crawley, West Sussex Anthony Garcia (also known as Rahman Benouis), 23, of Ilford, east London Nabeel Hussain, 20, of Horley, Surrey (subsequently found not guilty) Omar Khyam, 24-year-old computer student from Crawley, West Sussex, who was captain of the Sussex Under-18 Cricket team and had been expected to play for the England national team. Waheed Mahmood, 34, from Crawley, West Sussex Shujah Mahmood, 19, from Crawley, West Sussex (subsequently found not guilty) Mohammad Momin Khawaja, in life imprisonment in Canada, was the eighth man charged with