Toronto Police Charge 26-Year-Old With ISIS-Linked Terrorism Charges, Attempted Kidnapping

A Toronto man has been arrested and charged with supporting ISIS and terrorism activities, as well as numerous offences in connection with two attempted kidnappings.

Police say the man, Waleed Khan, 26, was involved with two other suspects who targeted women and the Jewish community.

RCMP has charged Khan with providing funds and property to ISIS, and conspiracy to commit murder for a terrorist group.

Police allege that, between June 17 and Aug. 17, Khan provided property in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario that he was aware would be used by or benefit ISIS, and participated in activities of a terrorist group by doing so. Police also allege he provided social media accounts to the terrorist organization. Authorities have also accused him of following instructions from those in the terrorist group and making himself “available to facilitate or commit a terrorism offence.”

Khan has also been accused of conspiracy to commit murder at the direction of or in association with the terrorist organization, and of conspiring with others to commit murder.

Attempted Kidnappings

Khan and two other men have also been accused in two attempted kidnappings in the Toronto area, according to the Toronto Police Service (TPS).

Khan, Osman Azizov, 18, and Fahad Sadaat, 19, were arrested by TPS following an investigation into the attempted kidnappings, which happened in May and June.

Police said a woman was approached by three suspects in the Don Mills Road and Rochefort Drive area on May 31. One of the suspects was armed with a handgun and another had a knife.

The suspects attempted to force the woman into a vehicle but were “interrupted by a passing motorist,” police said. The suspects fled the scene in a grey-coloured SUV.

Toronto police said a second similar incident occurred on June 24 involving three suspects and two women on Ellesboro Drive near Swanhurst Boulevard. The three suspects got out of a vehicle and chased the women, according to police. The suspects, who were said to be armed with a handgun, rifle, and knife, were interrupted by a passerby and fled.

Peel Regional Police (PRP) connected the two incidents, according to TPS, and the two law enforcement agencies were able to identify suspects.

Police executed search warrants at the suspects’ Toronto homes, which resulted in officers seizing firearms, ammunition, high-capacity magazines, and “other items of evidentiary value,” TPS said.

Police say the evidence that was gathered expanded the investigation to include hate-motivated offences, particularly targeting women and the Jewish community.

“Investigators also uncovered links to terrorism, prompting a separate but parallel RCMP investigation,” Toronto police said, noting that Khan faced additional charges as a result of the RCMP investigation.

The trio were arrested in August in connection to the June incident, according to Peel Regional Police.

As a result of the investigation, each suspect faces the same 14 charges, which include attempted kidnapping, firearms, and sexual assault offenses. Khan is facing 17 additional charges, including assault with a weapon, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, failure to comply with probation, breach of probation order, and numerous weapons charges.

The men are scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice on Jan. 29, according to TPS.

Mayor, Jewish Community Respond

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow thanked police for their efforts in a social media post.

“Through their joint efforts, they have uncovered serious alleged criminal offenses and potential threats to public safety motivated by hate, particularly targeting women and the Jewish community,” Chow wrote.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) CEO Noah Shack said the organization is “grateful” for the arrests.

“The details of the investigation indicate a grave threat, involving the Islamic State and attempts to target women and Jewish Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area,” Shack said, adding that the issue extends beyond the Jewish community, representing a concern for national security and public safety.

“There is a ticking time bomb in our country that our leaders must confront before it’s too late.”