A Hendon man went before an American court on Wednesday (August 13) in connection with an operation to smuggle a Russian surface-to-air missile into the United States.

Hemant Lakhani, a 68-year-old married man of Indian origin, of Wykeham Road, Hendon, was arrested on Tuesday at a hotel in New Jersey, and faces up to 25 years in jail if found guilty. He had been caught in an FBI sting when he turned up to collect the missile, which had been disabled.

He allegedly paid £50,000 to a Russian arms factory and then tried to sell the missile, which is ordinarily capable of bringing down a Boeing 737, to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Islamic militant.

Two other people were later picked up at a New York gem dealership.

Mr Lakhani and his wife flew to New York on a British Airways flight from Heathrow two days before his arrest.

Police raided the £700,000, four-bedroom family house between 5.30pm and 6pm on Tuesday evening, breaking down the front door and seizing some personal items.

Neighbour Zak Heller said: "It's quite unbelievable that this is so close to home, that you have got someone living two doors away charged with trying to bring down Air Force One."

Mr Heller said he did not know Mr Lakhani, but said he understood the house was up for sale.

Mr Lakhani was understood to live in Hendon with his wife, but his children were thought to live elsewhere.

Sally Morris, a former neighbour who knew him when he lived in Endersleigh Gardens about two years ago, described him as an ‘affable man’.

She said she did not know what he did for a living, but that he used to drive a Mercedes.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We can confirm that, at the request of the US authorities, Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch officers executed two search warrants at addresses in London on Tuesday, August 12. No arrests were made."