Toronto Terror Plot

[Mark Gobell]

Whilst researching TWOT timeline, I revisited the Toronto Terror Plot.

The bulk of the arrests were made on 2nd June 2006 in Canada which was exactly the same day as the trigger happy cops shot Mohammed Abdul Kahar during the Forest Gate raid, trying to arrest him and his brother Abul Koyair, for, erm, I dunno, or was it for visiting Abu Bakr Mansha in prison.

You will remember that the two brothers were childhood friends of Abu Bakr Mansha who is reported to be educationally subnormal with an IQ of 69, and was convicted on 22.12.2005 and jailed for 6 years for possessing the out of date address of a serving British soldier and decorated Iraq war hero.

It has been reported that it was the "intelligence" gathered from Abu Bakr Mansha that led to 400 officers, yes, that's four hundred, of the Met's finest descending upon the unfortunate Forest Gate pair in a crescendo of anti-terrorism, erm, policing that eventually led to, Mohammed Abdul Kahar with a bullet in his body, no charges and the subsequent attempt to smear him over allegations of child pornography on his PC in our wonderfully independent media.

Anyway, I digress.

The Canadian police have an entire website devoted to the their first terrorism "event" which I would encourage you all to visit.

It's quite remarkable, that this loose coalition of global jihadists, who operate in cells independently of each other, all go on camping trips to hone their urban warfare skills and, surprisingly all seem to have a home grown jihadist singing like a canary from within their ranks.

I will be giving out truthseeker badges for each and every identical trait that can be found.

Good hunting.

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/torontoterror/index.html

[Headhunter]

There was all this coverage, with them facing charges, and then, nothing. I didn't see any follow up coverage on it at all. Apparently the fertilizer was mailed to them by the RCMP..

[Mark Gobell]

disobedia.blogspot

The Toronto 18 Become The Toronto 11 - R.I.P. Canada

The Incredible Shrinking Terror Case

Up here in The Great White North, we are having our own experience with the terror-mongers. Our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is another of the neo-con Straussian faux tough-guys like the ones in Washington. And he's been trying - with much less success than his American overlords - to turn Canada into a modern, lawless dictatorship ruled by terror.

The problem that Harper's regime is having with Canada, though, is that we are mostly very easy-going. We tend not to hold grudges. We tend to be very open to new ideas. We tend to be empathetic to others. We insist on our personal privacy. We have never been very interested in empire-building. And, most of all, we have a tiny sliver of independent journalism still remaining (though that's almost gone over completely to American-style media conglomerate lie-mongering too).

Yesterday, even the mainstream media reported that the Crown Attorneys (District Attorneys for you American readers) were staying cases against four more of the so-called "Toronto 18." A stay means that there really wasn't a case against them to begin with. This is the second wave of stays in this case, bringing the fearful 18 down to 11. To get to the heart of this, we need to go back to 2004.

In the summer of 2006 the Anti-Terror Act was up for review, with the opposition parties calling for it to expire. Canada was openly questioning whether it was right to give up our liberties when it didn't seem that there was any real threat. Then, suddenly in June two weeks before the vote on the Act was due, the RCMP arrested (without warrant under the 2002 Anti-Terror Act) 18 (or was it 17) Muslims in Toronto as a direct result of the suspects allegedly ordering several hundred pounds of fertilizer.

The TVs and front pages flared up with the story of the plot to drive a bomb-laden truck up the steps of Parliament, run in, kidnap and then behead the Prime Minister, and then blow up the Parliament Buildings. As if that were not enough, the "home-grown terrorists" were running a professional "terror training camp" in the countryside. "Home-grown terror!" "It can happen here!" "They hate our freedoms!" cried the media non-stop for precisely one week until some of the sketchy details of the arrests started to come out. Then they clammed right up.

What they didn't tell us at first was that RCMP surveillance of some of the suspects had begun three years earlier - with absolutely no leads developing: these kids were normal Canadian youth - some of them politically active and outspoken against out invasion of Afghanistan, but the RCMP could find no illegal activity.

What turned things around for the RCMP was the introduction of two Muslim moles: one, Mubin Shaikh, a cocaine-addicted, lifelong Air Cadet with a troubled past - he was also a CSIS agent (Canada's CIA); the other a man was also a well-paid (he asked for $40 million dollars) CSIS agent with a degree in horticulture who was on the skids. Each was paid millions of dollars by CSIS and RCMP for their services. These two then ingratiated themselves to the suspects and immediately started the process of entrapment. Shaikh has since stated publicly that many of the suspects are innocent. He has also admitted to snorting all the money he was paid up his nose and has been recently charged with assaulting two 12-year old girls!!!

It turns out that the fertilizer was ordered and paid for by the RCMP!

In fact, it was the horticulturist mole who was the only one able to place the order, as a regular citizen ordering hundreds of pounds of fertilizer at once will be immediately reported to the RCMP! And it was delivered to a location that the RCMP rented and paid for- one block away from their regional headquarters! Now, you tell me what sophisticated terror network is going to devise a plot where they are based one block away from the national police force's HQ?!?

This is the third round of mass terror arrests in Canada. Each has preceded key events such as sending more troops to Afghanistan or voting on the Anti-Terror Act. In the previous two cases ALL the charges were thrown out of court, with brutal rulings from the bench damning the RCMP for ever arresting the suspects. We're well on our way to having all the charges against the 18 dropped.

This would be funny except for the fact that these unlawfully arrested young men, despite the flimsy evidence and exoneration of more than half of them, have all been kept in solitary confinement, sitting on a concrete floor for 23 and a half hours a day! We can all see that their charges are going to be dropped - but in the meantime they remain in these tortuous conditions, wasting their youth, in jail.

Our hearts go out to the families of these young men whose lives are being stolen from them at such a crucial age.

Linked from 911blogger.

[Mark Gobell]

Evidence in Toronto terror case not quite 'sensational'

Mar 27, 2008 04:30 AM
Thomas Walkom

What are we to make of the Crown's case against the Toronto 18? The summary of evidence released this week in advance of the trial of one of the Muslim men and boys arrested two years ago on terror charges describes what will come out in court as "shocking and sensational."

And if the 18 had been seriously planning to blow up buildings and behead politicians, these cases – when they finally do come to trial – would indeed be sensational.

But as with everything else that has emerged from the high-profile but secretive prosecution, this week's revelations end up creating more questions than they answer.

The government case, released on Tuesday, gives more details on just why the Crown believes the country was in danger. Much has already been reported – in particular the allegation that some of the 18 were plotting to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

But now we know where the evidence for that spectacular allegation came from – a conversation in a car during a 10-hour drive back to Toronto from the Northern Ontario settlement of Opasatika where the government claims (implausibly to anyone who has ever been to the tiny community) the alleged plotters hoped to establish a jihadist training camp.

What the government calls the "most salient passage" of the conversation appears in the transcript as a series of desultory, if morbid, non sequiturs among the suspects and paid RCMP informer Mubin Shaikh. One asks what happens in Parliament. Another says, "We go and kill everybody." A third chips in: "And then read about it."

The suspects seem unsure as to just who the Prime Minister is that they are apparently conspiring to behead. One thinks it's "Paul um what's his name – Paul loser (former prime minister Paul Martin). Another is sure (correctly as it turns out) that Harper is the man.

If there is more salient information on the alleged beheading plot, the Crown doesn't mention it. No times, no dates, no discussion of weaponry.

So too with a lengthy soliloquy given by one of the alleged masterminds at the ineptly organized training camp near Orillia. The Crown presents the speaker as a kind of inspirational jihadist leader. The excerpts from his videotaped speech, however, suggest an inarticulate bore.

He talks about God, enduring life's trials and the need to defeat "Rome." But there is nothing specific – no suggestion that buildings will be bombed or anyone killed. Instead, the shivering campers are encouraged to think positively, remember what's important and keep "sucking up to your boss."

Are these the words of an Al Qaeda fanatic? A rabid Protestant? A management consultant? From the evidence, it is hard to tell.

On it goes. One suspect allegedly cocked his finger to make a "shooting gesture" when the subject of CSIS came up. Others are said to have talked of "the general oppression of Muslims."

In yet another instance, reminiscent of the old Mae West line, the ubiquitous Shaikh said that on hugging one suspect he felt a "hard object ... which he believed to be a firearm."

Do any of these alleged facts mean anything?

This is not to deny there was illegal activity. We already know that three handguns were smuggled across the border (two of the 18 were long ago convicted of that crime). But beyond talking big, was there a real terror plot? Would matters have gone as far as the government claims they did without the active help of Shaikh and another paid informer?

After all the hoopla, is this all that there is?

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/356883

[Mark Gobell]

Alleged Toronto terror plot detailed in court
LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR

Crown wants names of adult co-accused shielded

The first day of the trial for a youth charged with belonging to a homegrown terror cell was bogged down with legal arguments over whether the names of his co-accused can be published.

Attack was to be bigger than London bombings, expected evidence shows

Mar 26, 2008 04:30 AM
Isabel Teotonio
Staff Reporter

The "shocking and sensational" inner workings of an alleged homegrown terror cell were unveiled yesterday in a Brampton court – and included the plotting of an attack "much greater" in scale than the London 2005 bombings that killed 52 people.

In a document made public for the first time, the Crown painted a broad picture of the expected evidence in the trial of a youth who pleaded not guilty to belonging to a terrorist group. The trial opened yesterday.

According to the allegations, the so-called Toronto 18 were attempting to secure a safe house to store weapons and practise military drills, and embarking on a mission to destroy the West – one they should be willing to die for.

Details of the alleged plot, which also included storming Parliament Hill and beheading politicians, emerged in a factum filed by the Crown that described the case against the accused as "shocking and sensational."

The document contains transcripts of wiretaps and videotapes that include one conversation in which one of the accused speaks of the group's ambitions.

"They're probably expecting what happened in London or something," he said. "... Some bombing in a subway kills 10 people and everybody gets deported. We're not doing that. ... So our thing it's, it's much, much greater on a scale ... you do it once and you make sure they can never recover again."

In arguing for a publication ban, the Crown said the evidence of these violent schemes and aspirations are so disturbing they could prejudice the future trials of the 14 adults who are also charged with belonging to this group. The accused were among 18 adults and youths arrested in a massive police sweep in 2006 for allegedly belonging to an Al Qaeda inspired cell. Charges against three youths have been stayed. Of the adults, 10 remain in jail and four are out on bail.

In response to concerns raised by the Crown, as well as defence lawyers representing some of the adults, the judge banned the publication of any names and a small portion of the allegations.

Until yesterday, all evidence in these cases was covered by other publication bans. The expected evidence remains to be either admitted or rejected during the youth's trial.

While some of the allegations have already surfaced in public reports, a great deal in the factum had never been published. Some of that expected evidence includes:

* Videos of terrorist indoctrination, in which the accused are exhorted to wage battle in the new empire of "Rome" in North America, "whether we get arrested, whether we get killed."

* Wiretap surveillance in which they discuss their desire to "establish the religion of Allah and to get rid of the oppressors" and the need for funds to finance their goals of building a "team" to "go make an attack."

* The construction of a "radio frequency remote-control detonator" that needed to be improved because its range was nine metres.

* Allegations the accused attended two training camps. One was a 12-day camp near the town of Washago, Ont., where they practised military-style exercises in camouflage gear and undertook firearms training with a 9-mm firearm. The second was a two-day camp at the Rockwood Conservation Area, where they donned camouflage clothing and made a propaganda-style video of their military drills.

According to the Crown's factum, the alleged terrorists first popped onto the radar of police in August 2005, when two of the adults were stopped at the Canada-U.S. border in a rented vehicle while attempting to smuggle firearms and ammunition into the country.

Based on the rental agreement, weapons history and intercepted telephone conversations the duo had while in jail, police expanded their investigation. They homed in on a few individuals and contacted Mubin Shaikh to act as a police agent.

Shaikh, a well-known member of the city's Muslim community, was told to attend a banquet hall on Nov. 27 and make contact with two of the adults. It was there that Shaikh met the youth now on trial.

Topics of discussions between Shaikh and the adults included the worldwide oppression of Muslims and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, accompanied by an adult making a "shooting gesture." While there, Shaikh hugged one of the men and felt what he believed to be a firearm. Before leaving, an adult showed Shaikh a magazine with bullets, which he referred to as "hollow points, cop killers," according to the Crown's factum.

A few days later, Shaikh and an adult drove to a park, where he laid out his plans to attack various targets, including the Parliament buildings. He said he needed to assemble a group and planned to organize an outdoor training camp. Because Shaikh had military experience, he agreed to be an instructor at the so-called camp.

In late December, 13 men and youths drove to a rural wooded area about 150 kilometres north of the city, where they participated in military marches, obstacle course runs and firearms training. Shaikh used a 9-mm gun brought by an adult to teach the others basic gun safety.

The prosecution alleges the true nature of the camp was revealed by an adult in a series of lectures he delivered to the group – lectures that were videotaped and subsequently found by police when they executed a covert search warrant at the home of another adult in May 2006.

In the video, the man is seated in the dark under what appears to be a tent. He addresses the group passionately, explaining: "Our mission's greater, whether we get arrested, whether we get killed. ... Rome has to be defeated. And we have to be the ones that do it." He goes on to say, "We already started striking cause you know what, this training is striking at them."

On Feb. 4, 2006, Shaikh and an adult were joined by two others as they drove to Opasatika, a rural town near Timmins. There they had hoped to set up a safe house where they could practise drills and store weapons, but decided against it, the Crown alleges.

On the way back to Toronto they discussed Operation Badr, a plot to storm Parliament Hill, take politicians hostage and demand the removal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan and the release of Muslim prisoners in federal institutions, police allege. If their demands weren't met, they'd "kill everybody," said an adult, who also reminded the others that the prime minister wasn't "Paul Loser" or "Paul Martin" – as they suggested – but was in fact "the other guy, Harper."

After their return, an adult reported he had built the "first radio frequency remote-control detonator," but pointed out it only had a range of 30 feet (nine metres), "which is not good." In response, another man pointed out "30 feet away? So you have to get blown up? Might as well sit in the car." He explained that if they could get the detonator to work from 300 metres, "then we'll do it." He then said that when the bomb went off on Front St., innocent people would be killed, which would be "too bad for them," according to the Crown's factum.

On March 5, two of the adults met with a man named Talib, hoping he would help them generate funds to purchase military assault rifles and other weapons, which one of them had already paid a down payment. As they attempted to recruit Talib, one man expressed their desire to establish "the religion of Allah," adding "we're not just a bunch of young guys." The other spoke of the "global fight."

Meanwhile, a second, more advanced training camp was in the works and took place at Rockwood May 20-22, police allege. A number of the accused attended, as well a man named Shal Syed, who later voluntarily met with investigators and offered a statement about an adult's comments and the group's activities.

Syed said an adult said the purpose of the camp was to "train" and to prepare for jihad. Again, an adult led a discussion circle inside a tent discussing so-called military strategies. One of the men asked Syed if he could teach others how to use firearms and grenades and whether he had access to such weapons. He also promised to show Syed recorded lectures given by Osama bin Laden.

On June 2, about 400 police officers conducted a series of arrests that garnered international headlines. On that day 17 men and youths were arrested. An 18th suspect was arrested two months later.

SUSPECTED TERRORISTS, IN THEIR OWN WORDS

In a video, Person 1, shown sitting in the dark under what appears to be a tent, speaks to the group:

"We're here to kick it off man. We're here to get the rewards of everybody that's gonna come after us, God willing, if we don't (get) a victory, God willing, our kids will get it. If not them, their kids will get it, if not them, the(n) five generations down somebody will get it, God willing. This is the promise of Allah. . . .

Excerpts from a conversation in a car during

"Operation Badr," recorded covertly by police:

Person 3: "What happens, what happens at the Parliament?"

Person 1: "We go and kill everybody."

Person 3: "And then what?"

Informant: "And then read about it ..."

Person 1: "We get victory."

Informant: "And take, uh, Paul, um, what's his name ____. Paul loser."

Person 1: "Paul Martin."

Person 3: "Yeah."

Person 1: "Nah, I wish he had won guy."

Informant: "What you . . . what you talkin' about?"

Person 1: "Now it's the other guy, Harper."


Person 1 talks to the group:

"Rome has to be defeated. And we have to be the ones that do it, no holding back, whether it's one man that survives, you have to do it. This is what the Covenant's all about, you have to do it. And God willing, we will do it. God willing, we will get the victory."

http://www.thestar.com/article/350909

[Mark Gobell]

Morning campers. The Lake District, England or Washago, Ontario ? Ring any bells ?

Campers not terrorists: Lawyer

Mar 27, 2008 04:30 AM
Isabel Teotonio
Staff Reporter

In the dead of winter, the terror suspects ventured off on a camping trip without a proper tent.

They couldn't handle the cold, so they slept in their cars and marched around to keep warm.

They routinely trekked off to Tim Hortons for washroom breaks and coffee runs.

That was the picture that emerged yesterday in a Brampton court about the activities at a so-called jihadist camp that members of a homegrown terror cell are alleged to have attended.

It is a vastly different portrait than the one painted by the Crown on Tuesday at the opening of the trial of a youth who is charged with belonging to the Toronto 18, a group that is accused of plotting to bomb several targets in southern Ontario.

According to a Crown factum of expected evidence, some of the accused frequented a 12-day camp near the town of Washago, Ont., where they practised military-style exercises in camouflage gear and undertook firearms training with a 9-mm firearm.

But a different story surfaces in a factum filed by defence lawyer Michael Moon, who represents one of the 14 adults arrested with four youths in a massive police sweep in 2006 for belonging to an Al Qaeda-inspired cell.

"In fact this hapless `F-Troop,' who ventured into the deathly cold of winter without a proper tent, or in fact sufficient or proper supplies of any kind, was reduced to sleeping in the vehicles at night to prevent freezing to death; trooping off to Tim Hortons multiple times per day for coffee and use of the bathroom, tending the fire, and marching with the primary purpose of staying warm."

The factum marks the first time any document challenging the Crown's case has been made public by a member of the defence team. It was filed in response to a Crown application seeking a limited publication ban on the identities of the adults during the youth's trial.

The Crown argues the expected evidence could prejudice the future trials of the adults. Since the arrests, charges against three youths have been stayed. Of the adults, 10 are in jail and four are out on bail.

Moon supported lawyer Paul Schabas, who represented various media outlets including the Star, in blocking the ban. The "orgiastic and self-congratulatory" press conferences held by police and government officials after the arrests, but before any pre-trial publication bans were imposed, robbed the accused of a fair trial long ago, Moon said.

According to him, most of the men and youths who frequented the camp were not aware it was "a boot camp" to select a "few good men" for a future training camp.

He also alleged that police informant Mubin Shaikh purchased the ammunition used in the handgun and lied to his handlers about the presence of a firearm.

Moon also notes that the "jihadist ambitions" of one of the camp organizers were limited "by the fact that he has neither the means, skill or opportunity to put them in place."

"He has been described as `blowing smoke' ... and without `two cents to rub together'" reads the factum, describing that particular organizer as Walter Mitty. It went on to quote Shaikh as saying that individual had "fanciful plans" of storming Parliament and beheading politicians.

Arguments on the issue of a limited publication ban ended yesterday, with the judge reserving his decision. In the interim, the media can report on the proceedings without identifying the adults.

The trial resumes next week, with more motions to be debated before witnesses takes the stand in May.

http://www.thestar.com/Article/357014

[outsider]

Global Outlook's view:

http://www.globaloutlook.ca/pdfs/The%20Toronto%2018.Final.pdf

[outsider]

And a few more:

http://winterpatriot.blogspot.com/2008/06/donuts-in-parking-lot-toront o-terror.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/world/americas/26canada.html?fta=y

http://www.captiveincanada.com/cms/news/toronto-18-news.html

I can't find anything more recent; perhaps the 'trial' is still continueing, but we don't want to lose sight of it - it's a classic!