David Headley

Spy

American Washington D.C., U.S.

Quick Info

ProfessionSpy
NationalityAmerican
Date of Birth30/06/1960
Age65 years
BirthplaceWashington D.C., U.S.

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Bio/Wiki

Real NameDawood Sayed Gilani
Full NameDavid Coleman Headley
Nicknames
Known ForBeing the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks and conducting surveillance for Lashkar-e-Taiba

Physical Stats & More

Height183 cm
Eye ColorHis right eye is hazel green and left eye is brown
Hair ColorBrown

Educational Qualification(s)

Schools
  • Cadet College Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan
  • Valley Forge Military Academy, Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA
College/UniversityCommunity College of Philadelphia, USA
Educational QualificationDropped out of his degree program in 1990

Personal Life

ReligionIslam
Food HabitNon-Vegetarian
Hobbies
  • Traveling
  • Listening to Islamic Spiritual Music

Relationships & More

Marital StatusMarried

Family

FatherLate Sayed Salim Gilani (Pakistani Diplomat and Broadcaster)
MotherLate Alice Serrill Headley (Secretary at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington)
Siblings
  • Danyal (Half) (Former Spokesman for then Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, Now a Pakistan's Press Attaché in Beijing)
  • 1
Spouse
  • Name
  • (Pennsylvania State University Student) (M.1985, Div.1987)
  • Shazia Headley (M. 1999)
  • Portia Gilani (M.2002-Div.2005)
  • Faiza Outalha (Moroccan Medical Student) (M. 2007)
ChildrenTwo children with his second wife Shazia

Career

Professions
  • Video Store Proprietor
  • DEA Informant
  • Spy
Controversies
  • Involvement in the 2008 Mumbai Attack
  • Surveillance in Mumbai and Denmark
  • Accused of committing espionage unlawfully for LeT
  • Convicted of 12 counts of terrorism
Key RolesConducted five surveillance missions in Mumbai between September 2006 and July 2008, scouting targets including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, Leopold Café, Chabad House, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station. Also conducted reconnaissance for a planned attack on Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in Copenhagen.

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. He was born to a Pakistani father and an American mother, growing up in two nations.
2. Had a difficult relationship with his step-mother.
3. In 1988, he was arrested for drug smuggling in West Germany.
4. Received a 4-year prison sentence after cooperating with the DEA.
5. Was introduced to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Lahore.
6. Admitted to an LeT training camp in February 2002.
7. Arrested in Chicago in 2009 and admitted to the charges.
8. In 2013, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
9. Survived a fatal attack by inmates in Chicago in 2018.
10. In January 1998, the DEA sent him to Pakistan for undercover work, resulting in five arrests and seizure of 2.5 kilos of heroin.
11. Attended LeT training camps on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005.
12. Received instructions from LeT members in late 2005 to conduct surveillance in India.
13. Successfully identified a landing site in Mumbai harbor for LeT attackers arriving by sea in April 2008.
14. Arrested in Chicago in October 2009 while en route to Pakistan.
15. Began cooperating with U.S. authorities immediately after arrest.
16. Testified for the government at the trial of co-defendant Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
Information on this page is collected from public sources and may not be 100% accurate. Report an error
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