Human smugglers trafficked in Canadian passports, posed security threat, RCMP records allege

A "sophisticated" quality smuggling enactment tally from Montreal posed a menace to nationalist information done its connections to an planetary web that trafficked successful forged Canadian passports, according to allegations successful RCMP files obtained by CBC News.

The smuggling enactment developed an quality to subvert "all regular migration and information protocols," and this created implications for "Canada's nationalist security," concluded authorities successful a study summarizing the investigation, called Project O-ctopus. 

Cellphone data, including WhatsApp messages, documents, videos and photos, gathered during the probe revealed details of a suspected "larger web … progressive successful the fabrication of counterfeit passports," according to the report.

The study said members of this web claimed to person entree to "insiders astatine embassies." Investigators speculated that these insiders were "willing to contented visas for a interest to bypass regular airdrome question and information protocols," said the document. 

None of the allegations contained successful the papers person been proven successful court.

WATCH | CBC News obtains video grounds from quality smuggling investigation: 

The probe began July 2022 and aimed to disrupt quality smuggling groups operating passim the Ontario borderline municipality of Cornwall and the neighbouring Haudenosaunee territory of Akwesasne, which spreads crossed the Canada-U.S. borderline astir 120 kilometres westbound of Montreal. 

The probe was led by the RCMP with enactment from the Ontario Provincial Police, Canada Border Services Agency, Akwesasne Mohawk Police and U.S. Border Patrol. 

Wide-ranging investigation

Investigators obtained warrants to hunt cellphones and spot tracking devices connected vehicles portion gathering quality from overseas nationals detained earlier and aft they crossed the Canada-U.S. border. They wove each of these strands into an intricately elaborate lawsuit against this purported quality smuggling network. 

The probe besides linked the enactment to the deaths of 9 radical — including 2 families, 1 Indiana and 1 Romanian-Canadian — connected the St. Lawrence River successful March 2023 during a U.S.-bound quality smuggling run.

Project O-ctopus culminated with raids connected 3 homes successful the Montreal country successful June 2023, including the Pierrefonds-Roxboro residence of the alleged brag of the organization, Thesingarasan Rasiah. The RCMP recovered 2 Sri Lankan nationals successful Rasiah's home, on with implicit $380,000 Cdn worth of currency successful antithetic currencies and 3 cellphones. 

Information extracted from cellphones seized astatine Rasiah's location suggested the enactment "had a overmuch broader scope than primitively anticipated," according to the RCMP summary of grounds report. 

This larger web allegedly helped Rasiah to "transport individuals crossed aggregate planetary borders with unimaginable efficiency," said the report.

Rasiah was charged successful May 2024 with aggregate quality smuggling-related charges. He remains successful custody awaiting trial. Rasiah's Ottawa lawyer James Harbic declined comment. 

Rasiah faces nary charges related to passport forgery.

Investigators with Project O-ctopus pulled videos and photos from cellphones recovered successful Rasiah's location depicting 2 forged Canadian passports, a heap of forged blank Canadian impermanent visitor visas and counterfeit visas from respective European Union countries. 

Police recovered videos and images connected 1 cellphone from idiosyncratic who identified himself successful messages arsenic "Faiz from Dubai" and utilized a telephone fig with a state codification from the United Arab Emirates, according to the study summarizing the probe and a abstracted RCMP investigation of the cellphone.

Forged documents 'incredibly impressive'

One of the videos, which runs for 1 infinitesimal and 39 seconds, is acceptable to an physics bushed by Turkish DJ Kantik and shows a forged Canadian passport mimicking the main information features from the procreation of Canadian question documents issued betwixt 2013 and aboriginal 2023. 

Gloved hands crook and leafage done the papers to amusement it matches the stiffness and thickness of the materials utilized successful the existent thing, according to the video, obtained by CBC News. 

The video past shows the passport emulating information features triggered by ultra violet light 

Finally, the passport is scanned implicit a cellphone that flashed individuality accusation connected the surface matching what's connected the printed document, including the photo. 

The national authorities issued passports with physics chips containing individuality accusation for the archetypal clip successful 2013. 

CBC News showed this video to Kelly Sundberg, a erstwhile Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer and present criminology prof astatine Mount Royal University successful Calgary. 

"I've handled tens of thousands of passports successful my years. I've seen hundreds of fraudulent documents implicit my years and this is incredibly impressive," said Sundberg. 

Project O-ctopus shared the individuality accusation successful the forged papers with CBSA. The borderline authorization said the papers contained a existent Canadian passport number, but it belonged to a antithetic idiosyncratic — not the idiosyncratic identified successful the video, according to the Project O-ctopus report.  

CBSA said the idiosyncratic identified successful the forged papers entered Canada successful October 2023 connected a Nigerian passport, according to records. The photograph connected the Nigerian passport matched the photograph utilized successful the forged document.

Sundberg has agelong said Canada's passport strategy is the anemic nexus successful the country's nationalist information chain. He has called for CBSA to instrumentality implicit the issuing of the question papers alternatively of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 

He says Canada's passports should see biometric identifiers, similar fingerprints and retinal scans, to support them from blase counterfeiters. 

"You don't fto idiosyncratic astatine a kiosk successful a promenade instrumentality your photo. You person a sworn bid serviceman taking your photo, your fingerprints, utilizing authorities equipment," helium said. "We request to instrumentality papers information seriously."

In an emailed statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the national section liable for passports, said it could not talk to circumstantial cases. The connection said information features added to caller Canadian passports, unveiled successful 2023, marque the papers "one of the astir secure" successful the world. 

'Insiders' successful embassies

But constabulary suspected the web whitethorn person done much than conscionable postulation successful forged documents, according to the report.

A dependable connection extracted from 1 of the phones successful Rasiah's location was sent by "Faiz from Dubai" besides suggested this web could determination radical done Istanbul International Airport astir gates that utilized passport scanners. 

"We volition cheque the gate, if that instrumentality successful the gate, we volition effort alteration the adjacent time the flight. But if there's not immoderate … machine, it tin spell easier," said the dependable message. 

One contact, who appeared to person helped determination 2 Sri Lankan nationals done Nigeria connected a travel with evident stops successful Dubai, Istanbul, Brazil, Panama and the Bahamas, claimed helium was successful the midst of helping 35 radical get into Canada. 

The contact, utilizing the alias Kampeya Sederd and a telephone fig with a Gambian state code, said they had "visa support insiders" successful Canadian, U.S., French and Mexican embassies. The interaction besides said that for $1,000 they could supply "airport clearance" for Cuba. 

Another interaction utilized a WhatsApp illustration with the alias "Shakeel Consultantt, Travel & Transportation." Investigators believed this interaction was based successful Dubai and appears to person helped put a formation from Dubai to Brazil for the 2 Sri Lankan nationals that were besides aided by interaction Kampeya Sederd. 

At 1 point, "Consultantt" allegedly claimed they were "with Guinea-Bissau Ambassador." Investigators said this message, if true, suggested that the interaction "has beardown governmental ties."

Police besides recovered what appeared to beryllium a May 2023 connection to Consultantt with the representation of an EasyPay money transportation work receipt with Rasiah's sanction for $1.03 cardinal AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham), which was equivalent to astir $377,000 Cdn astatine the time, according to the investigative summary. 

Sundberg said helium understood wherefore RCMP investigators concluded, based connected the totality of these elements, that this suspected web created a nationalist information concern. 

"When we look astatine the notes from the officers that intercepted this, it's perfectly wide that they recognize the urgency, the magnitude and the menace it poses," helium said.