An immigration consultant says a Pakistani man living in the Toronto area was allegedly planning a mass murder of Jews in New York while also seeking refugee status in Canada.
The United States is currently seeking to extradite Mohammed Shazeb Khan, 19. He was arrested by RCMP on September 4 in a dramatic operation in Ormstown, Kenya, not far from the US border.
The FBI told undercover agents that Khan would go on a rampage around the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, building an ISIS cell to “massacre” as many Jewish civilians as possible. He claims that he said he was doing so.
Fazal Qadir, an immigration consultant in Mississauga, Ont., who worked with Mr. Khan, said he was surprised to hear of the arrest. He said Khan showed no signs of radicalization.
Kadir said Khan was applying for refugee status because of his sexual orientation. “He said he was gay,” Kadir told CBC News in a recent interview.
Pakistan’s criminal code prohibits same-sex relationships, according to U.S.-based human rights group Outright International.
Khan’s immigration status at the time of his arrest is unknown. Kadir said Khan recently underwent a “long” interview with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The refugee claims were not included in a report prepared last month by immigration officials for the House Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
According to the report, Khan applied for a Canadian study permit in March 2023, was approved the following month, and arrived in Toronto on June 23, 2023.
IRCC referred his file to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for a “comprehensive security review” after an initial assessment “did not identify any risk indicators.” He said there was no.
The parliamentary committee asked how Ahmed Fuad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, was able to obtain Canadian citizenship despite allegedly appearing in a gruesome ISIS propaganda video several years ago. We are also investigating whether Eldidi and his son, Egyptian national Mostafa Eldidi, 27, are accused of planning an ax and machete attack in Toronto.
Communication with undercover investigators
Khan attracted the attention of an FBI informant within five months of arriving in Canada.
A U.S. criminal complaint released last month said Khan posted on social media expressing a “desire to carry out terrorist attacks” in support of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS).
An FBI special agent wrote that two undercover agents then communicated with Khan in an encrypted chat. He allegedly encouraged them to obtain AR-style rifles to attack an anonymous Jewish center in Brooklyn.
“If our plan is successful, this will be the largest attack on the American mainland since 9/11,” Khan reportedly wrote.
Mr. Kadir, the immigration consultant, referred to Mr. Khan as a student, but said he did not know where or what Mr. Khan had been studying since arriving in Ontario.
CBC reached out to several higher education institutions in the Toronto area. No one agreed to comment on whether Mr. Khan was enrolled there.
According to a U.S. criminal complaint, Khan said he was planning to move out of his Toronto-area apartment on September 1. “He had already decided that he would not be alive in two months,” the FBI special agent wrote.
The complaint also says Khan arranged for human smugglers to help him cross the border and asked his undercover agents to “continue their attacks even if they were captured.”
According to court documents obtained by CBC News, RCMP feared they did not have enough evidence to detain Muhammad Shajeb Khan and were concerned that he would carry out an alleged plot against Jews in New York. was.
detained in Montreal
At the time of his arrest on Sept. 4, Canadian police believed Mr. Khan was actually living at the Mississauga address where Mr. Qadir’s immigration agency was located, according to court documents.
Kadir said it is not uncommon for clients to list his company’s address as their mailing address to ensure they receive relevant documents from immigration authorities.
Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, is currently being held in a Montreal prison, where the United States is seeking his extradition on charges of attempting to provide material support and supplies to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Mr. Khan’s criminal defense lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, appeared briefly on Mr. Khan’s behalf in a Montreal courtroom last month for his first extradition hearing.
Bourassa recently told Reuters that Khan intends to contest the extradition request.
“He is a young man who was arrested and we will see what evidence there is to have him extradited,” Bourassa said.
Mr. Khan is scheduled to appear by video link on Dec. 6 in Quebec Superior Court in Montreal.
