Ahead of Headley's sentencing, Gary Shapiro, the acting US Attorney in Chicago, told the court in a memo that "Headley played an essential role in the planning of a horrific terrorist attack" in Mumbai.
Starting in 2002 and continuing to 2005, Headley attended five separate Lashkar training camps where he was indoctrinated on the merits of waging jihad and trained in combat skills, the memo noted.
At the instance of LeT leaders, he changed his given name of Dawood Gilani and enlisted the assistance of his friend, Tahawwur Hussain Rana to travel to and stay in Mumbai without detection starting in 2006 and continuing to 2008.
