Three Toronto men have been charged with hate-motivated crimes targeting women and the Jewish community, police announced on Friday.
The arrests followed two failed kidnapping attempts in May and June, as well as the seizure of weapons including an AR-style rifle.
One of the suspects was charged separately with terrorism offenses that included conspiracy to commit murder for the Islamic State.
Waleed Khan, 26, Osman Azizov, 18, and Fahad Sadaat, 19, face almost 80 charges as a result of a major crimes investigation called Project Neapolitan.
A parallel investigation by the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team resulted in terrorism charges against Khan.
The arrests come after two pro-Islamic State terrorists killed 15 people and injured dozens more at Hanukkah celebrations at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.
In the wake of the attack in Australia, Canada’s threat assessment agency said there were no known plots of a similar nature in this country.
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But the intelligence brief also warned that an attack targeting Jewish holiday events in Canada remained a “realistic possibility.”
Canadian Jewish organizations have called for government action to address the antisemitism that has surfaced since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
According to Toronto police, its investigation began after three armed men tried to force a woman into a vehicle on May 31 but were interrupted by a passing motorist.
On June 24, a similar incident occurred when three armed men wearing balaclavas exited a vehicle and tried to lure two women into a light-coloured Audi SUV.
They chased the women but fled when a passerby came to the scene. All three women were sexually assaulted, according to the charges filed in Ontario court.
Peel police connected the incidents and worked with Toronto police to identify the suspects. Searches of their residences turned up multiple firearms and high-capacity magazines, police said.
Khan was arrested on Aug. 18. At the time, he was on probation for prior violent offences and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
He was also charged with an addition assault with a knife that allegedly occurred on July 31, according to the charges.
“The evidence gathered expanded the scope of the investigation to include additional offences motivated by hate – particularly targeting women and members of the Jewish community,” Toronto police said.
“Investigators also uncovered links to terrorism, prompting a separate but parallel RCMP investigation through INSET. This led the RCMP to lay terrorism-related charges against Waleed Khan.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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