Explosive Gel Was to Be Concealed in Sports Drink

Richard Esposito reports on The Blotter The suspected terror plotters arrested in Britain had planned to conceal their liquid or gel explosives inside a modified sports beverage drink container and trigger the device with the flash from a disposable camera. ABC News has learned exclusively that the plotters planned to leave the top of the bottle sealed and filled with the original beverage but add a false bottom, filled with a liquid or gel explosive. The terrorists planned to dye the explosive mixture red to match the sports drink sealed in the top half of the container. This, they thought, would ensure that they would be able to pass through security -- even if they were asked to unseal and drink the beverage.

Now we know why just requiring them to drink the beverage was not enough of a test.

The flash in a disposable camera has enough electrical power, they apparently believed, to set off the homemade explosive. There are any number of homemade or modified commercial liquids that would have made effective explosives, with enough energy to damage or destroy a plane.