Man accused of plotting terror attacks and having ISIS links used to be Italian cricket captain
Aftab Farook was reportedly planning on using a Kalashnikov or a bomb to attack a wine shop in Milan or the airport of Bergamo
A MAN accused of plotting an ISIS terror attack used to captain the Italian youth cricket team.
Italian newspapers reported that Pakistani suspect Aftab Farook was caught on a wire-tap talking about attacking targets.
He was reportedly planning on using a Kalashnikov or a bomb to attack a wine shop in Milan or the airport of Bergamo in northern Italy.
Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, 45, said the 26-year-old supported ISIS and was planning a trip to Syria.
The news came as a surprise to the citizens of Vaprio d'Adda near Milan, the town where Farook had lived with his family since he was 13 years old.
Photos have been published in the Italian media of Farook captaining the Italian under-19 cricket team.
The pictures were taken from a 2009 issue of Sportweek, an insert to Italy’s biggest sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
Fabio Marabini, President of the Kingsgrove Milano cricket club, who was like a father figure to Farook, told local media that he could not believe the news.
He said: "It hit us like lightning. I spoke to him just before they put him on the flight for Islamabad.
"He thanked me for everything I have done for him over the years and he told me he was scared, because he has no longer any ties to Pakistan."
Reports said that Farook, who was employed by the sporting goods retailer Decathlon, loved snowboarding with his friends and even volunteered in his spare time as a bus driver for disabled people.
Marabini added: "He would never have hurt a fly. He was made captain of the national team precisely because he was a trustworthy person, always ready to help others."
However, Italian daily ‘La Stampa’ cited an investigative report by the anti-mafia police, which said Farook had changed over the past years.
He reportedly started beating his wife and forced her to wear a burqa to cover her face.
Farook was deported to Pakistan on Wednesday 3rd August.
His family plans to challenge his expulsion to Pakistan at the European Court of Human Rights, according to reports.
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