New York: India-born British arms dealer Hemant Lakhani, charged with trying to sell Russian-made surface-to-air missiles to undercover agents posing as Islamic militants, has agreed not to press for bail and will remain in jail.

The court was to hear his bail application on September 11, the second anniversary of terrorist attacks on the US, and his lawyers were pressing his case for bail.

Judge Susan Wigenton, according to court sources, had ruled on September 9 that no combination of money and security could "reasonably" assure the appearance of Lakhani in the court.

At his last hearing earlier this month, the defence lawyers had demanded that prosecution present a witness directly linking Lakhani to the crime and the judge had given the prosecutors time to do so. The defence had said Lakhani could live under house arrest after posting $ 1 million bail.

PTI