PASSPORT FRAUD SCHEME TIED TO CANADA'S 'MOST WANTED', BUSTED BY RMCP

The RCMP have arrested a man accused of duping Passport Canada into issuing passports under fake names to some of Canada’s most notorious criminal suspects, CBC has learned.  

The RCMP alleges the passport fixer was aiding high-level cocaine traffickers including the infamous Alkhalil brothers, one of whom is wanted for two deadly shootings in Toronto and Vancouver.

“He was facilitating the obtaining of Canadian passports in exchange for money,” said RCMP National Division Insp. Costa Dimopoulos, who told CBC News that criminals are willing to spend $5,000 to $20,000 for a genuine document issued under an assumed name.

Police charged Harbi Mohamoud (Dave)  ​Gabad last Friday with a string of passport and identity fraud offences after the RCMP’s Sensitive and International Investigations Section (SIIS) searched his Gatineau, Que., apartment looking for hard drives, photos and other evidence.

Canadian passports are coveted by people in the criminal underworld, Dimopoulos said. 

“It’s allowing you to move freely internationally without fear of being captured. 

It allows you the ability to hide, essentially, from police.”

To date the RCMP have linked Gabad to 13 fraudulent passport applications, including eight that were actually issued by Passport Canada under assumed identities, according to search warrant documents filed in court.

Source: CBC