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Crime

GUILTY; Home Grown ISIS Cell Convicted of First Degree Murder

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News release from Honking for Freedom

By John Goddard

Three assailants await sentencing in the Chicken Land shooting

It was a murder trial like no other. During the trial, a suspected Islamic terrorist who according to testimony pledged loyalty to ISIS, sat next to me. The crime-scene photos were X-rated, the text messages between suspects obscene, and the police work so superb that nearly every move of the defendants was accounted for.

In the end, the jury found all three men guilty in a shooting spree meant to eliminate an entire family at their takeout restaurant, Chicken Land, in Mississauga just outside Toronto. One young man died on the spot. The others survived, including one man shot through the neck and another in the chest.

It was an unprecedented crime in Canada, an entire family targeted for execution at their workplace, but the trial was also extraordinary for something else. On the opening day, Crown prosecutor David D’Iorio rose to say that the three men — with others — had established a home-grown terrorist cell affiliated with ISIS, the Islamic State. One of the Chicken Land family members had learned about it and had mused that he might tell the police. In ISIS logic, that meant he and his family had to go.

Honking for Freedom Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

“An extreme crime with an extremist motive,” co-prosecutor Brian McGuire called it. Of the other terrorist cell members, said to number between 10 and 12, all that was mentioned was that the RCMP is pursuing an ongoing investigation, another astonishing detail presumably meaning they still walk among us.

Well, not presumably. At one point in the trial, text messages from one of the defendants showed that he sent money to his brother in Pakistan for jihad — Islamic terrorism. The brother, now back in Canada, sometimes sat next to me in court.

The three convicted killers are: Naqash Abbasi, 34, the organizer; Suliman Raza, 28, the getaway driver; and Anand Nath, 23, the shooter. All were found equally guilty of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.

They were running a business near Toronto’s Pearson International Airport that involved a warehouse that doubled as a mosque and dawa centre, a place for inviting non-Muslims to Islam. The shooter was a convert. The young family member killed at Chicken Land, Naim Akl, had gone to work for the men and had also converted. When Akl discovered the ISIS connection, he left Islam and returned to the family restaurant.

The trial imparted details I thought would never come to light. Three years had passed since the shootings, a long time. I suspected a plea bargain was being negotiated to avoid police and prosecutors being labelled “Islamophobic,” a made-up notion pushed internationally by the Muslim Brotherhood and nationally by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).

The police and prosecutors would also have had other reasons not to push ahead. The accused men were clearly dangerous, willing to wipe out a family to try to keep a secret. The Crown’s star witness, who knew the three men, asked for and received witness protection, likely including relocation and a new identity. Two bodyguards escorted him to and from court on the days he testified.

Courageously and brilliantly, however, the prosecutors brought the case to trial, and the lead investigators from Peel Regional Police sat with them every day in open court. The question now is whether, with their terrorism case, the RCMP will do the same.

The date for sentencing the three killers has yet to be set, but first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

I am writing a book with the working title, The Chicken Land Shootings: A Crime Within a Crime.

Honking for Freedom Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Crime

RCMP Bust B.C. Fentanyl Superlab Linked to Mexico and Transnational Exports

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Sam Cooper 

@samthebureau

In a remote mountainous area of British Columbia, federal police have dismantled the largest fentanyl laboratory ever discovered in Canada. This western province has become a critical front in the Five Eyes battle against the production and distribution of deadly synthetic narcotics trafficked globally by networks involving Chinese and Iranian state-sponsored mafias and Mexican cartels.

In a groundbreaking discovery, the RCMP located the superlab in Falkland—a village of 946 residents nestled in the rugged terrain between Calgary and Vancouver—using Phenyl-2-Propanone (P2P) to manufacture methamphetamine. This production method, primarily employed by Mexican cartels, stems from the precursors and scientific expertise Mexican cartels have gathered from elite Chinese criminals since the early 2000s, according to U.S. enforcement sources.

David Teboul, Commander of the RCMP Federal Policing program in the Pacific Region, underscored the significance: “Manufacturing methamphetamine using P2P had not been seen in Western Canada until now,” he said. “The P2P manufacturing method has been the primary method used by Mexican cartels to produce methamphetamine for years.”

Demonstrating the destructive power of the cartels involved, the RCMP seized a staggering cache of illicit substances and weapons. Officers confiscated 54 kilograms of fentanyl, massive amounts of precursor chemicals, 390 kilograms of methamphetamine, 35 kilograms of cocaine, 15 kilograms of MDMA, and 6 kilograms of cannabis. The superlab was described as the largest and most sophisticated of its kind, capable of producing multiple types of illicit drugs.

“To put things into context,” Teboul said, “the over 95 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl that have been seized could have taken the lives of every Canadian at least twice over.”

A large portion of the product was destined for other countries.

During the investigation, RCMP officers learned of several large shipments of methamphetamine prepared for international export. They intercepted 310 kilograms of methamphetamine before it could leave Canada, preventing a significant quantity from reaching global markets—a critical point as Canada faces pressure from its allies over its role in the global fentanyl and methamphetamine trade.

Teboul noted that the RCMP collaborated with its Five Eyes enforcement partners—an intelligence alliance comprising Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Although Teboul did not provide specific details, this cooperation underscores the international scope of the transnational investigation.

The first suspect, Gaganpreet Singh Randhawa, was identified and arrested during raids. He is currently in custody and faces multiple charges, including possession and export of controlled substances, possession of prohibited firearms and devices, and possession of explosive devices. More arrests are expected, Teboul said.

The scale of this criminal network echoes the power and violence fueling gang wars that have rocked British Columbia, putting innocent lives at risk during high-powered shootouts in Vancouver. Investigators seized a total of 89 firearms, including 45 handguns, 21 AR-15-style rifles, and submachine guns—many of which were loaded and ready for use. The searches also uncovered small explosive devices, vast amounts of ammunition, firearm silencers, high-capacity magazines, body armor, and $500,000 in cash.

British Columbia has been grappling with an influx of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, significantly exacerbating the opioid crisis across Canada. The province has witnessed a surge in overdose deaths, prompting law enforcement to intensify efforts against drug production and trafficking networks. Experts highlight weaknesses in Canadian laws and a lack of federal oversight at the Port of Vancouver, which have been exploited by transnational crime and money laundering organizations from China, Iran, and Mexico.

This significant bust comes at a time when Canada is under increased scrutiny from international allies over its role as a hub for the export of fentanyl and methamphetamine. The superlab takedown appears to align with serious concerns raised by lawmakers in Washington about how Canada and Mexico are being used by transnational crime organizations to distribute fentanyl worldwide.

A recent U.S. congressional report argues that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategy relies less on overt military actions and more on covert tactics, including trafficking of fentanyl and leveraging money laundering, aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities across social, economic, and health domains.

“Fentanyl precursors are manufactured in China and shipped to Mexico and Canada. For precursors that arrive in Mexico, Chinese transnational mafias work with Mexican cartels to smuggle and distribute fentanyl in the United States on behalf of the CCP,” the report states. “The DEA confirmed Chinese transnational crime leaders hold government positions in the CCP and indicated that Chinese transnational crime organizations are dedicated to the CCP.”

“The public deserves to know about the CCP’s role in fentanyl production and how the Party is using fentanyl as a chemical weapon to kill Americans,” the report adds. It recommends that Washington publicly “blame the CCP as much as the DEA and its partners currently blame the Sinaloa Cartel” for fentanyl trafficking and urges the government to “educate international allies about CCP chemical warfare” and encourage them to condemn Chinese transnational crime.

According to congressional investigations, Beijing is actively incentivizing the export of fentanyl and methamphetamine worldwide. The report alleges that Chinese criminal organizations, including Triads led by individuals with official positions in the CCP, are working alongside Mexican cartels to generate profit to fund interference operations in America.

The Bureau is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

 

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Alberta

Multi-million dollar drug seizure in southwest Edmonton

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News release from ALERT (The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team)

Nearly $2.5 million in drugs and cash was seized from a southwest Edmonton condo building. A warrant has been issued for an Edmonton man.

ALERT Edmonton’s organized crime team made the seizure on October 9, 2024 after searching an address in the Windermere neighbourhood. The Edmonton Police Service helped with the search warrant execution.

ALERT seized an estimated $2.3 million worth of drugs, which included:

  • 17.7 kilograms of cocaine;
  • 5.3 kilograms of MDMA;
  • 950 grams of methamphetamine;
  • 3.1 kilograms of ketamine;
  • 5 kilograms of psilocybin mushrooms;
  • 20,000 oxycodone pills;
  • 4,705 illicit prescription pills;
  • $41,000 cash.

ALERT searched the address following an investigation that dates back to June 2024. Investigators developed information about a high-level drug trafficker operating in the Edmonton area with a number of supply lines.

The drug seizure marks ALERT’s largest since a record bust earlier in the year. In August, 27 kilograms of cocaine were seized from a west Edmonton home. The two investigations are unrelated.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Minh Nguyen. The 36-year-old Edmonton man is wanted on charges of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime, and possession of counterfeit money.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact police.

The investigation began in June 2024 after ALERT received information about a drug supplier based in the Edmonton area. ALERT alleges Nguyen was supplying other drug dealers in Edmonton and northern Alberta communities.

Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.

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