Posted on 08/23/2003 6:19:16 AM PDT by MalcolmS
TORONTO - An anti-terrorism probe that led to the arrest of 19 Pakistani men, including one who took commercial flight training over a nuclear power plant, highlights security holes that should have been plugged after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Ontario officials said.
The Public Security and Anti-Terrorism Unit, a federal national security task force, quietly arrested the group of mostly young men last week. The men appear to have used fraudulent student visas to enter Canada or to maintain their residency here.
Federal authorities documented a pattern of suspicious behaviour that shows an interest in Ontario's nuclear generators and bears similarities to the hijackers involved in the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States.
"It raises serious concerns about the issue of people being in the country on false documentation and taking flight training," Bob Runciman, Ontario's Minister of Public Security, said in an interview. "It sends out very bad vibes to everyone, given what's happened in the past and the fact that these situations are continuing to crop up in Canada. It is cause for concern."
Federal investigators found an "alarming" network of immigrants, tied to a Toronto diploma mill, whose activities include trying to get into a nuclear compound, gathering radioactive devices, moving house in the middle of the night and learning to fly, according to a document summarizing the case presented at immigration detention hearings this week.
"There is a pattern of fraudulent document use to obtain or maintain immigration status," the document says. "To enter and/or remain in a country by misrepresentation is a known ruse used by persons of security concern.
"The majority have not sought to regularize their status in Canada and although they appear to have the ability to support themselves in Canada, they have no clear source of income."
The investigation was sparked by an immigration officer who grew suspicious about a student applying for permanent resident status.
The officer could not verify claims the person attended the Ottawa Business College or even confirm that the school existed, according to the document. He also questioned a bank statement showing a $40,000 balance but no identifiable source of income.
A police search of records at the school turned up 31 people who appear to have fraudulently used the school to enter or stay in Canada; 19 were arrested.
Most are between 18 and 33 who, with one exception, have connections to Pakistan's Punjab province, noted for its Sunni Muslim extremism, authorities say.
The majority entered Canada as students, starting in January, 1998. None have entered through this scheme since Sept. 5, 2001, shortly before the attacks on the U.S.
They have not actually studied or have done so in a "dilatory" fashion. Federal authorities were alarmed that the group's associates have access to nuclear gauges, a device commonly used in construction. The theft of such a device is also linked to the group, the authorities allege.
Cesium-137, a component of the gauges, is described as a likely source for construction of a so-called dirty bomb, a crude nuclear bomb.
The men lived simply and moved often.
"Generally, the only items reported in the residences are mattresses on the floor and a computer. One cluster left an apartment during the night and discarded all of their belongings: mattresses, clothing and computer shells, apparently taking only the computer hard drive upon vacating an apartment," the document says.
"They appear to reside in clusters of four or five young males and appear to change residences in clusters and/or interchange addresses with other clusters."
One of the men's roommates provided a landlord with a letter of reference from Global Relief Foundation, Inc., which has been identified by the United Nations as a group that provides financial support to terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda.
Mr. Runciman and other provincial authorities said the case required intensive action to reduce lapses in Canada's immigration and security systems. "We need to know how many student visas have been issued by the federal government; how many of these schools have had security or background checks; how many of the students are still in Canada even though their visa has expired," he said.
He has also asked for a review of the province's regulation of non-degree granting schools and their ownership.
The issue of foreign nationals abusing student visas was a primary focus of the U.S. government in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Of the 19 hijackers involved in the attacks, one came to the United States on a student visa and two others applied for student status and were awaiting an answer. The flight school in Florida where Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi had applied received letters of approval from U.S. immigration authorities six months after they each crashed an airliner into the World Trade Center.
Also, the driver of the van used in the deadly 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center had entered the U.S. on a student visa. He was able to remain for years there even after dropping out of school.
The arrests also highlighted concerns over the security of Canada's nuclear reactors. Two of the group were found by police trying to enter the Pickering nuclear power station at 4:15 a.m. on a cool, damp night. They allegedly asked officers for permission to enter the perimeter to go for a walk on the beach. And one took flight training that took him over the Pickering nuclear site.
"There has been a great deal of work done since Sept. 11 on our nuclear facilities," said James Young, Ontario's Commissioner of Public Safety. "There's been greater security checks of those that work there; there has been additional physical security added at plants.... There has been a hardening and enhancement of the perimeter. The problem that has remained, and does remain, is how to make them secure in terms of flyovers."
Michel Clèroux, a spokesman for the Nuclear Safety Commission, said imposing no-fly zones over nuclear facilities is "not a practical option." Many of the nuclear stations are in the midst of heavily populated areas with busy air traffic. Imposing no-fly zones around the plants would be too disruptive, he said.
Mohammed Syed, a Toronto lawyer representing two of the men, accused the government of using public fears over terrorism to keep his clients behind bars. "The allegations are so sketchy and so flimsy it boggles the mind they would be detained as security risks," Mr. Syed said. "I think it's over-reaction on [the authorities'] part, partly because of Sept. 11 and because all these males are Muslim," he said. "That, to me, smacks of racism."
Terrorism specialists, however, said the case should be watched closely.
"At best, this is a large immigration fraud," said a counter-terrorism official who did not want to be named. "At worst, it is something very nefarious that reflects some of the things that we've been worrying about for some time. This is a glass half-full/glass half-empty story: It's good they were caught, but why did they get in?"
Mark Dunn, spokesman for Denis Coderre, the federal Immigration Minister, said the arrests illustrate the collaborative efforts of the RCMP, Immigration officials and other law enforcement agencies.
Mr. Runciman, however, complained Ontario's police agencies were not informed of the operation.
Of course, people disposed to permanent ignorance and worshipping the "feelgood" gods of PC and multiculturalism are incapable of seeing that setting up a 500-student phony school, maintaining it (even on paper) requires a huge support structure that goes far beyond 19 'misguided' Pakistanis.
Both in terms of financial as well as moral support.
The long term planning inherent in the move, as well as the commitment to the purpose of such fraud should make people's hair stand on end, and prompt serious thought about "naturalized" citizens from certain areas of the world.
Social attitudes and structures in Mexico are not normally things we admire or consider desireable.
In this case it is a very good thing, since "tolerance" is non-existent there and there is a no-BS attitude about strange people engaging in strange behavior.
The odds of successfully being an undercover muslim terrorist cell in Mexico are considerably lower than in Canada and the US.
Someone also said on another that they arrested a '20th Candian highjacker' on drug charges and rather then being arrested he jumped from a 7th floor balcony.
No, but I have the Stairway to Heaven CD.
Wow. That's creepy. He'd rather die than talk. Ouch.
Um, maybe they got in because Canada is asleep at the wheel, ya think? The question now is will this cause them to wake up and help up with the border.
Yep, those governments and the Talibani's are no different in allowing AQ operations and training bases.
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