Kingston raids, arrests by RCMP said to be part of national security investigation

[spaminator]

Kingston raids, arrests by RCMP said to be part of national security investigation
Postmedia News
Published:
January 24, 2019
Updated:
January 24, 2019 8:36 PM EST
RCMP at a residence on MacDonnell Street in Kingston on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. It was one of two houses raided that afternoon. Steph Crosier / Postmedia
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested two individuals after two raids on houses in Kingston on Thursday afternoon in what media outlets say is part of a national security investigation.
Not much information had been released as to the reason for the raids. A spokesperson with the RCMP stated their operations in the city are ongoing and that more information will be provided on Friday.
“The RCMP and Kingston Police confirm that police operations are taking place in Kingston,” Cpl. Louise Savard said in an email to the Whig-Standard. “All actions are being taken to ensure public safety.”
They posted the same statement on Twitter. Kingston Police added that they can assure “everyone there are no public safety issues to be concerned about.”
The RCMP at a residence on Kingsdale Avenue in Kingston on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. It was one of two houses raided that afternoon. Steph Crosier / Postmedia
The houses in question were on Kingsdale Avenue and Macdonnell Street. Kingston Police assisted the RCMP, providing traffic control and their emergency response unit.
The two residential streets were closed for about two hours during the searches. Forensics officers from the RCMP remained on scene.
The house on Macdonnell Street was recently sold by a local rental company.
The CBC and CTV quoted unnamed officials and sources as saying the arrests are related to national security.
— With files from the Canadian Press
The RCMP at a residence on MacDonnell Street in Kingston on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. It was one of two houses raided that afternoon. Steph Crosier / Postmedia
The RCMP at a residence on MacDonnell Street in Kingston on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. It was one of two houses raided that afternoon. Steph Crosier / Postmedia
http://torontosun.com/news/national...rcmp/wcm/431a2ec2-5f76-499b-b98d-d14530b4316e

 

[spaminator]

Two arrests in Kingston, Ont., related to national security investigation: Source
Canadian Press
Published:
January 24, 2019
Updated:
January 24, 2019 9:20 PM EST
Two RCMP officerz stand outside a house where police raid and arrested two people in Kingston, Ontario, on Thursday Jan. 24, 2019.Lars Hagberg / THE CANADIAN PRESS
KINGSTON, Ont. — The RCMP have made two arrests in Kingston, Ont., in what a government official confirms is a national security investigation.
The RCMP tweeted Thursday evening that “all actions are being taken to ensure public safety” and more information will be provided Friday.
A senior government official speaking on background confirmed that the arrests were related to a national security investigation.
The official, who did not wish to be identified because the investigation is in its early stages, said the situation is “contained” and there’s no threat to public safety.
The RCMP say they are “working closely” with Kingston police on the probe, calling it an “ongoing and evolving situation.”
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says any operational details on the RCMP investigation will be released by the Mounties, adding that the country’s security agencies act on credible information about potential threats.
Police officer carry evidence after RCMP officer raided a house and arrested two people in Kingston, Ontario, on Thursday Jan. 24, 2019. Lars Hagberg / THE CANADIAN PRESS
“The government of Canada has no greater responsibility than to keep its citizens safe. Earlier today, the RCMP and other police partners took action in Kingston, Ontario, based on credible information, to ensure public safety,” Goodale says in a statement.
“The government of Canada constantly monitors all potential threats and has robust measures in place to address them. Canadians can be confident that whenever credible information is obtained about a potential threat, the RCMP, CSIS and other police and security agencies take the appropriate steps to ensure the security of this country and the safety of its citizens.”
Goodale says the country’s official threat level remains at “medium.” It has stood at that level since the fall of 2014.
http://torontosun.com/news/national...ted-to-national-security-investigation-source

 

[spaminator]

MANDEL: Only more questions as a youth charged in terror plot
Michele Mandel
Published:
January 25, 2019
Updated:
January 25, 2019 8:29 PM EST
RCMP Supt. Peter Lambertucci, left, and Chief Supt. Michael LeSage, brief the media about a pair of police raids Thursday afternoon that resulted in the arrest of two people, one of which was charged with terrorism-related offences in Kingston, Ont. on Friday, Sept. 25, 2019. (Elliot Ferguson/The Whig-Standard/Postmedia Network)
For weeks, Kingston residents were mystified by a noisy, low-flying airplane circling in the sky overhead.
Kingston Police said it wasn’t theirs. The Canadian Forces base at Trenton insisted it wasn’t theirs, either.
The answer to the mystery that raged on social media turned out to be far more troubling than many could have imagined: It was tracking an alleged terrorist who isn’t even old enough to vote.
The Pilatus PC-12 police surveillance plane was an RCMP “air asset” conducting a month-long investigation into an alleged terror bomb plan that culminated in the arrest of two young friends during raids at their homes Thursday afternoon.
This photo taken on Jan. 13 shows a police surveillance plane that has been flying over downtown Kingston since early January. Canadian police revealed a minor was arrested on a terrorism-related charges on Friday, Jan. 25, 2019 as part of a national security investigation that also involved the FBI. (Neil Aird via AP)
Charged with “knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity” and “counselling a person to deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device” in a public place is a minor under 18 whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Arrested but later released was 20-year-old Hussam Eddin Alzahabi, a Syrian refugee whose family was privately sponsored from Kuwait by several area churches in 2017.
He told CityNews it was all a “misunderstanding.”
The shocking news was hard to fathom in this quiet limestone city — an alleged plot to build and detonate a bomb by a young offender that came to light last month and was foiled thanks to a quick and intense cross-border investigation.
RCMP Supt. Peter Lambertucci told a crowded press conference in Kingston Friday that the “credible” tip came from the FBI in late December.
“There was an attack plan, which is what led to our disruption yesterday,” he said. “The individual was reported to be involved in the manufacturing of homemade improvised explosive devices.”
Lambertucci, in charge of the RCMP’s national-security enforcement team, said trace elements of explosives from an alleged homemade device were found in a residence and led to its evacuation.
“It was neutralized and rendered inert,” he told reporters.
RCMP officers conducted terrorism-related raids in Kingston, Ont., on Thursday, January 24, 2019. (Steph Crosier/The Whig-Standard/Postmedia Network)
While there was a plan, he said there was no specific target or timing. He wouldn’t disclose if the FBI information came via online chatter or any other type of monitoring. He also wouldn’t answer questions about possible motives or links to any foreign groups.
RCMP Chief Supt. Michael Lesage insisted the public was never in any danger.
The massive investigation included 300 officers, he said, from seven agencies including local police and FBI officers with support from the OPP, Canada Border Services Agency, the CSIS and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
Yet only one person has been charged?
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Had the surveillance plane — the Kingston Whig Standard confirmed it belonged to the RCMP just a few days ago — spooked the suspects? Were investigators forced to make arrests earlier than they’d wanted?
Lambertucci denied that rampant speculation about the mystery plane had spoiled their investigation. But he wouldn’t rule out further arrests.
By late Friday, Alzhabi had been released without charge.
His father, Amin Alzahabi, told the network his son would never be involved in terrorist activity.
“They tell me they search about him about terrorists. I know my son, he didn’t think about that,” Alzahabi told CBC. “He like Canada. He like the safety in Canada. How could he think about that?”
“It’s fake news about my son. I trust my son. I know he cannot do anything against any human, humanity.”
“They inspected everything from my house. They didn’t find anything. I think this is not good.”
Alzahabi said his son was upgrading his high school grades at Loyalist Collegiate & Vocational Institute and planned to continue on to university.
Now his name has been splashed across the country as a terror suspect.
Four churches came together to sponsor the family in 2017 and a spokesman for the sponsorship committee said he was blindsided by Alzahabi’s arrest.
“Even though our sponsorship ended last July, many of us in the group have maintained relationships with the family — meaningful relationships — and this is just a real body blow,” Bronek Korczynski told Canadian Press.
“We’re just gobsmacked by this. It’s so out of whack with the family we’ve come to know and care for.”
The sponsors said the father had been imprisoned for not joining Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ruling party and once released, the family fled to Kuwait where they lived for 10 years before being privately sponsored to Canada.
While community groups raced to head off anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant backlash, the arrest of a Syrian refugee was soon being used to score political points.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was quick to call for a review of Canada’s refugee screening process.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer speaks with the media following Question Period in Ottawa on Dec. 4, 2018. Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS
“These kinds of incidents serve to underscore the critical importance of having strong anti-terrorism laws and appropriate penalties for those found guilty of breaking them,” Scheer said in a statement.
“We’ve recently learned of several examples of dangerous individuals entering the country due in part to lax screening procedures.”
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale dismissed Scheer’s comments as fear mongering.
“Somehow he already knows or is presuming the result of a police investigation. I think it’s wiser in these circumstances, rather than leaping to conclusions, that the police do their job. Let’s get the facts on the table and then we’ll determine the appropriate course of action,” he told reporters.
Goodale also said Canada’s official threat level has not been elevated from its current status at “medium.” where it has been since 2014.
The Kingston raids resulted in a far more benign outcome than the last time we learned of an FBI tip to the RCMP about a potential domestic terror attack. In 2016, the information led police to Aylmer were ISIS sympathizer Aaron Driver detonated an explosive device in a taxi and died in a confrontation with officers.
In this case, there is so much we still don’t know and no answers are likely to be forthcoming any time soon.
Charged with masterminding a terror plot, the youth appeared briefly in a Kingston court where a publication ban covers any information revealed about the allegations.
He reportedly was smiling during his court appearance. Remanded in custody, the suspect returns to court on Monday.
And meanwhile, the Mounties’ investigation continues.
mmandel@postmedia.com
http://torontosun.com/news/local-news/mandel-only-more-questions-as-a-youth-charged-in-terror-plot