3 weeks ago
Two erstwhile United Nations labor successful Montreal person been charged pinch participating successful a conspiracy to waste Chinese-made drones and different subject instrumentality successful Libya, Canadian constabulary said Tuesday.
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Charles Poirier said nan alleged offenses occurred betwixt 2018 and 2021, erstwhile nan 2 men were moving astatine nan International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency headquartered successful Montreal.
Police identified nan 2 men arsenic Fathi Ben Ahmed Mhaouek, 61, and Mahmud Mohamed Elsuwaye Sayeh, 37. Poirer said they violated U.N. sanctions related to nan Libyan civilian war. The sanctions person nan unit of rule successful Canada by measurement of national regulation.
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"What we recovered is that done immoderate ammunition companies, they attempted to waste this Chinese subject equipment to Libya, which is simply a nonstop usurpation of nan regulation," Poirier said, adding that nan subject instrumentality included ample drones that tin transportation aggregate missiles.
Poirier said nan regularisation prohibits anyone successful Canada from supplying subject instrumentality to immoderate of nan factions that were fighting successful nan Libyan civilian war, aliases helping to finance those groups. The alleged conspiracy, he said, would person benefited 1 of nan 2 main factions successful nan conflict, which ended successful 2020.
Canadian constabulary opportunity that 2 erstwhile United Nations labor successful Montreal person been charged pinch participating successful a conspiracy to waste Chinese-made drones and different subject instrumentality successful Libya. (iStock)
"The 2nd portion of this strategy was to export Libyan lipid to China," Poirier said. "So astatine nan time, nan lipid fields were nether nan power of Gen. Khalifa Hifter and nan scheme was to waste millions of drums of crude lipid to China without anyone knowing astir it."
Hifter's self-styled Libyan National Army fought against Libya’s U.N.-backed authorities and held overmuch of nan country’s eastbound during nan civilian war; he continues to beryllium a powerful fig successful that region.
Poirier said Mhaouek, a Canadian citizen, was arrested Tuesday greeting astatine his location successful nan Montreal suburb of Ste-Catherine, Que., and was scheduled to look successful a Montreal tribunal later successful nan day.
Mhaouek’s alleged accomplice remains connected nan run. An Interpol reddish announcement — an alert sent to constabulary astir nan world — and a Canada-wide warrant person been issued for Sayeh’s arrest.
Poirier said investigators person nary denotation that subject instrumentality aliases crude lipid ever reached their alleged last destinations, but he said if they had, nan 2 co-conspirators stood to summation respective cardinal dollars successful commissions.
"The mentation down nan information is chiefly financial," he said. However, it would person besides benefited China by allowing it to covertly support Hifter's faction and by giving nan state premier entree to Libyan oil.
Poirier said nan investigation began successful 2022 aft nan RCMP received what he described arsenic "credible intelligence."
Both men had negotiated immunity owed to their activity pinch nan U.N. Their immunity had to beryllium waived by ICAO earlier nan 2 men could beryllium charged.
The U.N. organization, which sets world aviation standards, has been collaborating pinch nan constabulary investigation.
"There’s nary denotation that ICAO was alert of nan conspiracy until they were approached by us," Poirier said.
Police don’t cognize wherever Sayeh, a Libyan national, whitethorn be.
"He could beryllium successful Libya, but pinch nan level of power and nan networking that these men had moving astatine ICAO, he could beryllium anywhere," Poirier said.
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The UN’s civilian aviation agency said successful an emailed connection that it is committed to upholding Canadian laws, U.N. standards and its ain morals code.
"ICAO is afloat cooperating pinch nan RCMP investigation of nan individuals progressive successful nan complaint, who near nan statement a number of years ago," nan agency said. "ICAO powerfully condemns immoderate actions of individuals that are inconsistent pinch nan organization’s values."
