Man Arrested At B.C. Border With ‘Terrorist Resources’

CTVBC in Canada reports that a Syrian man was arrested at the Canadian Border last month with $800,000 in gold coins along what is being described as “terrorist resources”.

From CTVBC

Paranoia and naivete led a Syrian man to lie about why he was crossing the border with nearly $1 million in gold and what’s been called “terrorist resources,” says the lawyer for the man who has been held as a potential security threat since early last month.

Khaled Nawaya, a flight instructor, was arrested by Canada Border Services agents when they found $800,000 in gold coins and other currency in his car and pockets on Oct. 6, as he crossed into Surrey, B.C., near Vancouver.

“He didn’t want to be taxed on it,” lawyer Phil Rankin said Tuesday.

“He should have gotten legal advice on that and just declared the money. Had he declared the money, that would probably be the end of the story.”

But his actions, along with other politically-charged items found in his vehicle, are now being used by government officials to build a case depicting him as a national security threat.

The 35-year-old faces the Immigration and Refugee Board on Thursday to learn whether authorities have grounds to keep him in custody.

He’d been living in the U.S. since he was 17 and had gained approval for permanent residency in Canada.

Besides the gold, Canadian agents found a ring bearing the insignia of Hezbollah, which has been listed as a terrorist organization by the Canadian government since 2002.

Read Full Article

Men Abandon Car At Border, Flee To US – Bomb Squad Called

Both ends of the Ferry Point Bridge from St. Stephen to Calais, Maine were apparently closed shortly after 6 p.m. last night and the RCMP bomb squad was called to stand by as American authorities questioned five people who attempted to enter the United States on foot  after abandoning their vehicle.

Update: The incident began when five men left a vehicle on the Canadian side of the border, walked across the Ferry Point Bridge and attempted to enter the United States, confirmed Ted Woo, spokesman for the U.S. Office of Homeland Security.

[...]

No one was arrested by U.S. authorities, Woo said, and the men were returned to Canada.

[...]

Woo said he was scrambling Monday to counteract “wild rumors” and dozens of telephone calls from people who believed that the car contained a bomb and that the men were from Afghanistan.

He said the men were not from Afghanistan, but he said U.S. privacy laws prevented him from providing details about their citizenship status or identification.

[...]

Border agencies in neither Canada nor the United States intend to charge the five people with anything, Gillmore and Woo said.

Source – Read Full Article

From The Telegraph Journal
The five people who attempted to cross into the United States are not Canadians and are possibly illegal immigrants – possibly from Afghanistan, RCMP J Division media relations officer Sgt. Claude Tremblay said late Sunday night from Fredericton.

“The reason we closed the bridge is because they left their vehicle and went on foot,” Tremblay said.

The RCMP spokesman declined to say precisely where the five people parked the vehicle, but admitted that a person could draw a logical conclusion from the location of the police roadblocks at either end of the bridge.

[...]

He did not know Sunday night if the American authorities would return the five people to Canada or deal with them in the United States. For that reason he could not say whether to expect court appearances in St. Stephen today.

Read Full Article

Passports Become Mandatory at Mexico, Canada Borders

New rules requiring passports or new high-tech documents to cross the United States’ northern and southern borders are taking effect Monday, as some rue the tightening of security and others hail it as long overdue.

The rules are being implemented nearly eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks and long after the 9/11 Commission recommended the changes. They were delayed by complaints from state officials who worried the restrictions would hinder the flow of people and commerce and affect border towns dependent on international crossings.

In 2001 a driver’s license and an oral declaration of citizenship were enough to cross the Canadian and Mexican borders; Monday’s changes are the last step in a gradual ratcheting up of the rules. Now thousands of Americans are preparing by applying for passports or obtaining special driver’s licenses that can also be used to cross the border.

Read Full Article

Terror On Our Borders

For years America’s northern and southern borders  5,938 miles of dense forest and open land  were fair game for drug dealers and illegal immigrants looking to sneak into the U.S. That was before September 11, 2001.

After the 9/11 terror attacks, securing America’s borders became a national priority, says Jay Ahern, deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Read more