OTTAWA — An alleged domestic terror plot that reached from a quiet, west-end Ottawa neighbourhood to Iran, Dubai, Pakistan and the killing fields of Afghanistan has been busted following a year of surveillance, police said Thursday.
Three men, all Canadian citizens, are in custody after an investigation by 100 Mounties with the assistance of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canadian Border Services Agency, the Surete du Quebec and police in Ottawa and London, Ont.
Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, 30, and Misbahuddin Ahmed, 26, both of Ottawa and Khurram Syed Sher, 28, of London, Ont., have been charged in the plot.
Their arrests came after police seized more than 50 electronic circuit boards they allege were designed to be remote detonators for bombs, as well as terrorist literature and bomb-related documents.
Ahmed is an X-ray technician at an Ottawa hospital. The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons web site says a Khurram Syed Sher is a McGill University graduate who is an anatomical pathologist at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital in St. Thomas, Ont., just south of London.
Alizadeh studied English as an additional language and electrical engineering technology at Red River College in Winnipeg.
Police said an attack was likely still months away when they pounced on the plot, but they moved because they feared the men were about to start sending money to other terrorists in Afghanistan to buy weapons to be used against coalition and Canadian troops.
The Mounties described the three as members of a home-grown terrorist group, although they said Alizadeh is a member of another terror group with links to the Afghan war.
“The threat of terrorism is very real and Canada is certainly not immune to potential attacks,” Raymond Boisvert, assistant director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told a news conference.
“This country has been identified on several occasions as a legitimate target by various individuals who espouse an Islamist ideology.”
Alizadeh is charged with conspiracy, committing an act for terrorism purposes and providing or making available property for terrorism purposes.
He is also charged with making or having “an explosive substance” with the intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property. Police said the circuit boards are considered an explosive substance under the Criminal Code.
Ahmed and Sher are charged with conspiracy to facilitate terrorist activity.
Documents filed in provincial court in Ottawa say the men plotted with three others to “knowingly facilitate terrorist activities” in Canada and abroad.
The additional alleged conspirators named in the court documents are James Lara, Rizgar Alizadeh and Zakaria Mamosta. It is not clear where these men are. The charges say the conspiracy was carried out in Ottawa, Iran, Afghanistan, Dubai and Pakistan.
Ahmed recently told family members he wanted to move to Saudi Arabia, sources said.
The investigation, known as ”Project Samossa”, continues, with the Mounties refusing to provide anything but bare-bones details of the case. Connections among the three charged, their motives, their targets and whether they are linked to either the Taliban or al-Qaida will have to come out in court.
Although the RCMP and CSIS have been faulted in the past for rivalry and in-fighting that messed up other investigations, they both stressed that this investigation involved the closest co-operation.
Besides the electronic circuit boards, officers seized “a vast quantity of terrorist literature and instructional material ... showing that the suspects had the intent to construct an explosive device for terrorist purposes,” the police said.
“This group posed a real and serious threat to the citizens of the National Capital Region and Canada’s national security,” said RCMP Chief Supt. Serge Therriault.
He also said the plot went beyond the capital.
”Anywhere where these individuals would travel would be a concern of mine,” he said. ”It wouldn’t be limited to Ottawa.”
Therriault said the threat level waxed and waned during the long investigation, as police watched the trio and gathered evidence.
He said a terror attack was still ”months away” when the arrests were made, but the plotters were moving into the preparation process.
He said investigators seized ”schematics, videos, drawings, instructions, books and electrical components designed specifically for the construction of improvised explosive devices or IEDs.”
Touring the Arctic, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the arrests should remind Canadians that they face real threats.
“The networks that threaten us are worldwide, they exist not only in remote countries but they have — through globalization and through the Internet — they have links through our country and all through the world,” Harper said.
“These things will continue to be challenges but we will continue to work with our police and security agencies to ensure they have the resources to track these threats and respond appropriately and hopefully in all cases before any serious damage is done.”
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, speaking in Winnipeg, said government and police are constantly vigilant but added “all freedom-loving Canadians also play a role in the protection of our nation.”
“I call on all Canadians to stand up and be vigilant against the terrorist threat against our nation.”
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff cautioned against a ”witch hunt.”
“I think we always need to take the threat seriously and we need to support the RCMP and CSIS as they do their jobs,” said Ignatieff. “But let’s not walk around feeling menaced ... feeling under threat.
“This is a threat common to democratic societies around the world and the right way to deal with it is to be very calm. Let the police do their jobs and let the courts do their job.”
Ahmed’s lawyer, Ian Carter, said the charges are serious and his client, a husband and father, could be put away “for a long time.”
“He is in shock. That’s all I can say,” said Carter.
Sean May, Alizadeh’s lawyer, said his client “seems to be taking the matter seriously and obviously very concerned about it.”
“They are very serious charges, no question about that. They are the most serious charges you can face except for a murder charge.”
Ahmed and Alizadeh were brought into court via police van, hiding their faces from cameras.
Tall and slender with square glasses, the bearded Alizadeh wore a checked dress shirt, dark pants and a brown cap. Ahmed, also bearded, wore a white shirt with brown swirl graphic by his right hip.
A judge remanded them in custody until they appear again, by video, next Wednesday.