06-07-2006, 10:40 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->How the police watched the plan unfold
Fahim Ahmad group's alleged 'emir'
COLIN FREEZE
TORONTO -- It's alleged that they called their project Operation Badr. And before its unravelling gripped the world's attention on the weekend, it made quieter noises that police say they picked up on: a seemingly inconsequential gun seizure at the Canada-U.S. border; a gunshot near Cochrane in Northern Ontario; bullets shattering statues of Hindu gods during a target practice in a remote area in the Township of Ramara, Ont.; and the printing of business cards with a decidedly non-threatening e-mail address, Studentfarmers@hotmail.com.
According to a copy of a Crown synopsis viewed yesterday by The Globe and Mail, police have months worth of surveillance, communication intercepts and physical evidence that were amassed before a monitored buy of $4,000 worth of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on Friday. This sting is said to be the final chapter of months of dogged police work, leading to the arrest of 17 suspects.
None of the evidence has been tested in court and all suspects are presumed innocent until proved guilty. Indeed, most of the suspects have minor roles in a plot that appears to have two ringleaders. Still, the eight-page Crown dossier is thick with allegations.
The upshot? The police and spies who caught wind of this were as meticulous as their targets were ambitious.
It has been called a made-in Canada plot against Canadian targets, but this is only half the story. It's alleged the group's emir, or leader, was Fahim Ahmad, and that he was in touch with shadowy terrorist figures in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Britain.
But the bulk of the action occurs entirely within Ontario.
Mr. Ahmad, who faces the most charges of any suspect, cuts a distinctive figure in the Crown dossier. He is accused of bearing the brunt of the responsibility for the gun-running, the training and the final phase of the operation, a series of ammonium-nitrate truck bombs to be exploded against Canadian targets.
According to Crown information, the group discussed many possible targets before settling on three main ones: an unspecified Canadian Forces base, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the downtown Toronto office of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
According to Aly Hindy of the Salaheddin Islamic Centre, Mr. Ahmad blamed constant spying by CSIS for forcing him into criminal activity.
In August, 2005, two young men were stopped at the Canada-U.S. border and searched. Authorities found three handguns, boxes of ammunition and even a bullet stashed in a sock.
The men, Mohammed Dirie and Yasim Mohamed, told authorities they bought the weapons from a drug addict in Columbus, Ohio, for "protection" from criminals. They were sentenced to two years each.
The smuggling incident was brought to the attention of the RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.
They noted that the car intercepted at the border was a rental. And, according to the Crown dossier, the credit card used to obtain the vehicle belonged to one Fahim Ahmad.
It was at that point that authorities began to regard the case as much, much more than a gun-smuggling incident.
Mr. Ahmad had such a radical, Internet-influenced approach to Islam that even Mr. Hindy regards him with suspicion.
According to Mr. Hindy, the young man told him of renting a car for a gun-smuggling operation. Mr. Hindy said he called some Toronto undercover police detectives he knew, and reported on Mr. Ahmad's alleged involvement.
Mr. Hindy was stunned to see the suspect keep returning to the mosque: Why hadn't police done anything?
But according to the Crown dossier seen by The Globe, police were doing a lot: They were watching Mr. Ahmad's communications, and came to believe he was talking to overseas figures with ties to international terrorism; they were trying to tie him to two Georgia-based terrorism suspects who had visited Toronto that spring; and they were keeping a close eye on the Toronto-area circles he moved in.
As the summer of 2005 turned to fall, it is alleged that Mr. Ahmed increasingly drew upon a fellow suspect, Zakaria Amara. According to the dossier, he sent him to Cochrane, Ont., to scout out a possible location for a training camp.
It is alleged that Mr. Amara was spotted approaching government offices in the far Northern Ontario community. Someone claims to have heard him fire off two shots with a shotgun.
Police allege he returned back to brief the emir on his travels. In the end, the location was not suitable. A community closer to Toronto was chosen.
It is alleged that the ringleaders had amassed a number of followers, including young men in their late teens. Police say they wanted to become jihadis.
Two guns may have been seized at the border, but the group had access to a 9 mm Luger, according to police. They also had an air rifle and a paintball gun. Strangely, by this time, CSIS had long since released a discussion paper under the Access to Information Act, indicating it was keeping tabs on young extremists playing paintball.
The training started on Dec. 18 and finished on Christmas Day, according to the Crown information. Sentries were posted around the Ramara camp 24/7. Police say the group shot at statues of Hindu gods for target practice. In quieter moments, it is alleged they reviewed jihadist videos and talked. They even had a course in confidence building, according to the Crown dossier.
According to the document, they had a name for their project: Operation Badr. A list of possible targets was overheard, according to the Crown synopsis.
The Parliament buildings are said to have came up. So did the Toronto headquarters of the CBC and RCMP headquarters in Ottawa. So, too, did the notion of taking politicians hostage. (One lawyer's assertion yesterday that his client stands accused of plotting to "behead" Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not seen in the document The Globe viewed yesterday.)
As the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan began to ramp up, the group talked of hitting a military base back home, the dossier states.
And then there was CSIS: Police say they picked up conversations targeting the spy service at its downtown Toronto offices or possibly its Ottawa headquarters.
In one conversation, police say they overheard concerns about whether the Toronto office was appropriate. One suspect allegedly said he didn't care whether the attack caused mass casualties on the street.
Police assert the attacks would be multiple, and simultaneous, for maximum effect. It is alleged the explosions were to be delivered by truck bombs.
But tensions began to arise within the group, according to the Crown dossier. It is alleged that Mr. Amara grew impatient that Mr. Ahmad was not moving fast enough.
Mr. Amara, who lived on the other side of the Toronto area, in Mississauga, is alleged to have joined forces with a charismatic figure at a local Islamic centre: Qayyum Jamal. With the help of the 43-year-old, Mr. Amara surrounded himself with a small group of young men and teenagers.
It is alleged that Mr. Amara was seen hatching plans to buy a detonator and researching bomb construction in public libraries. From the beginning, the bomb was said to be big: 1.5 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, according to police, mixed with several litres of nitric acid to get the explosion going.
Police monitor large purchases of such substances. But what if a lot of people make individual purchases? The Crown alleges a plot manifested itself with 200 business cards that would allow suspects to approach suppliers individually and acquire smaller batches. The Crown says the e-mail address had a memorable ring: Studentfarmers@hotmail.com.
Then there was a change of plan. The Crown alleges Mr. Amara brought in another Mississauga man, Shareef Abdelhaleem, to assist with buying thousands of dollars worth of fertilizer.
According to the Crown information, a police agent was on the opposite end of a payment of $2,000. After that point, the operatives are alleged to have rented a house and industrial storage unit.
There is a second payment recorded by Crown officials. It was for $4,000 and it took place on June, 2, 2006 -- the day of the arrests.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...AHIM07/TPStory/<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Fahim Ahmad group's alleged 'emir'
COLIN FREEZE
TORONTO -- It's alleged that they called their project Operation Badr. And before its unravelling gripped the world's attention on the weekend, it made quieter noises that police say they picked up on: a seemingly inconsequential gun seizure at the Canada-U.S. border; a gunshot near Cochrane in Northern Ontario; bullets shattering statues of Hindu gods during a target practice in a remote area in the Township of Ramara, Ont.; and the printing of business cards with a decidedly non-threatening e-mail address, Studentfarmers@hotmail.com.
According to a copy of a Crown synopsis viewed yesterday by The Globe and Mail, police have months worth of surveillance, communication intercepts and physical evidence that were amassed before a monitored buy of $4,000 worth of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on Friday. This sting is said to be the final chapter of months of dogged police work, leading to the arrest of 17 suspects.
None of the evidence has been tested in court and all suspects are presumed innocent until proved guilty. Indeed, most of the suspects have minor roles in a plot that appears to have two ringleaders. Still, the eight-page Crown dossier is thick with allegations.
The upshot? The police and spies who caught wind of this were as meticulous as their targets were ambitious.
It has been called a made-in Canada plot against Canadian targets, but this is only half the story. It's alleged the group's emir, or leader, was Fahim Ahmad, and that he was in touch with shadowy terrorist figures in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Britain.
But the bulk of the action occurs entirely within Ontario.
Mr. Ahmad, who faces the most charges of any suspect, cuts a distinctive figure in the Crown dossier. He is accused of bearing the brunt of the responsibility for the gun-running, the training and the final phase of the operation, a series of ammonium-nitrate truck bombs to be exploded against Canadian targets.
According to Crown information, the group discussed many possible targets before settling on three main ones: an unspecified Canadian Forces base, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the downtown Toronto office of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
According to Aly Hindy of the Salaheddin Islamic Centre, Mr. Ahmad blamed constant spying by CSIS for forcing him into criminal activity.
In August, 2005, two young men were stopped at the Canada-U.S. border and searched. Authorities found three handguns, boxes of ammunition and even a bullet stashed in a sock.
The men, Mohammed Dirie and Yasim Mohamed, told authorities they bought the weapons from a drug addict in Columbus, Ohio, for "protection" from criminals. They were sentenced to two years each.
The smuggling incident was brought to the attention of the RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.
They noted that the car intercepted at the border was a rental. And, according to the Crown dossier, the credit card used to obtain the vehicle belonged to one Fahim Ahmad.
It was at that point that authorities began to regard the case as much, much more than a gun-smuggling incident.
Mr. Ahmad had such a radical, Internet-influenced approach to Islam that even Mr. Hindy regards him with suspicion.
According to Mr. Hindy, the young man told him of renting a car for a gun-smuggling operation. Mr. Hindy said he called some Toronto undercover police detectives he knew, and reported on Mr. Ahmad's alleged involvement.
Mr. Hindy was stunned to see the suspect keep returning to the mosque: Why hadn't police done anything?
But according to the Crown dossier seen by The Globe, police were doing a lot: They were watching Mr. Ahmad's communications, and came to believe he was talking to overseas figures with ties to international terrorism; they were trying to tie him to two Georgia-based terrorism suspects who had visited Toronto that spring; and they were keeping a close eye on the Toronto-area circles he moved in.
As the summer of 2005 turned to fall, it is alleged that Mr. Ahmed increasingly drew upon a fellow suspect, Zakaria Amara. According to the dossier, he sent him to Cochrane, Ont., to scout out a possible location for a training camp.
It is alleged that Mr. Amara was spotted approaching government offices in the far Northern Ontario community. Someone claims to have heard him fire off two shots with a shotgun.
Police allege he returned back to brief the emir on his travels. In the end, the location was not suitable. A community closer to Toronto was chosen.
It is alleged that the ringleaders had amassed a number of followers, including young men in their late teens. Police say they wanted to become jihadis.
Two guns may have been seized at the border, but the group had access to a 9 mm Luger, according to police. They also had an air rifle and a paintball gun. Strangely, by this time, CSIS had long since released a discussion paper under the Access to Information Act, indicating it was keeping tabs on young extremists playing paintball.
The training started on Dec. 18 and finished on Christmas Day, according to the Crown information. Sentries were posted around the Ramara camp 24/7. Police say the group shot at statues of Hindu gods for target practice. In quieter moments, it is alleged they reviewed jihadist videos and talked. They even had a course in confidence building, according to the Crown dossier.
According to the document, they had a name for their project: Operation Badr. A list of possible targets was overheard, according to the Crown synopsis.
The Parliament buildings are said to have came up. So did the Toronto headquarters of the CBC and RCMP headquarters in Ottawa. So, too, did the notion of taking politicians hostage. (One lawyer's assertion yesterday that his client stands accused of plotting to "behead" Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not seen in the document The Globe viewed yesterday.)
As the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan began to ramp up, the group talked of hitting a military base back home, the dossier states.
And then there was CSIS: Police say they picked up conversations targeting the spy service at its downtown Toronto offices or possibly its Ottawa headquarters.
In one conversation, police say they overheard concerns about whether the Toronto office was appropriate. One suspect allegedly said he didn't care whether the attack caused mass casualties on the street.
Police assert the attacks would be multiple, and simultaneous, for maximum effect. It is alleged the explosions were to be delivered by truck bombs.
But tensions began to arise within the group, according to the Crown dossier. It is alleged that Mr. Amara grew impatient that Mr. Ahmad was not moving fast enough.
Mr. Amara, who lived on the other side of the Toronto area, in Mississauga, is alleged to have joined forces with a charismatic figure at a local Islamic centre: Qayyum Jamal. With the help of the 43-year-old, Mr. Amara surrounded himself with a small group of young men and teenagers.
It is alleged that Mr. Amara was seen hatching plans to buy a detonator and researching bomb construction in public libraries. From the beginning, the bomb was said to be big: 1.5 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, according to police, mixed with several litres of nitric acid to get the explosion going.
Police monitor large purchases of such substances. But what if a lot of people make individual purchases? The Crown alleges a plot manifested itself with 200 business cards that would allow suspects to approach suppliers individually and acquire smaller batches. The Crown says the e-mail address had a memorable ring: Studentfarmers@hotmail.com.
Then there was a change of plan. The Crown alleges Mr. Amara brought in another Mississauga man, Shareef Abdelhaleem, to assist with buying thousands of dollars worth of fertilizer.
According to the Crown information, a police agent was on the opposite end of a payment of $2,000. After that point, the operatives are alleged to have rented a house and industrial storage unit.
There is a second payment recorded by Crown officials. It was for $4,000 and it took place on June, 2, 2006 -- the day of the arrests.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...AHIM07/TPStory/<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->