AN purchase in Ontario triggers manhunt

Toronto-The May 26 purchase of 1,500 kilograms (3,307 pounds) of ammonium nitrate from a cooperative farm center in Lincoln, Ont., sparked a manhunt for the buyer, whom the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) feared might be using the material to build a bomb. The incident ended calmly on June 9, however, when the individual contacted police after seeing news stories about the manhunt and sketches of himself in the local media. “The ammonium nitrate has been recovered from two addresses in Toronto,” said a news release from Toronto Police Inspector Gord Sneddon, who heads the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET). “There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the purchase of the ammonium nitrate. It is expected that there will be no charges.” Police in southern Ontario had called in anti-terrorist units after being notified on May 31 of the sale. The fertilizer – 60 25-kilogram bags of ammonium nitrate – was purchased from Vineland Growers, located in the Niagara region about an hour south of Toronto. Employees at the co-op contacted police after discovering that the buyer had misrepresented himself as a worker for a local grower, according to news reports. INSET held a press conference on June 9 during which they released three composite sketches of the man, along with a description saying the buyer was in his late 50s or early 60s, was short and stocky, spoke with a European accent, walked with a limp, and had severed fingers on his right hand. Officials said a number of factors contributed to the urgency of the manhunt, including the size of the purchase and the fact that a G20 summit is planned for late June in the Toronto area. “Quite frankly it looks like this is going to turn out to be a gardening incident,” a police spokesman was quoted as saying. One report said the farm center could face repercussions for not taking the man’s identification information at the time of purchase. “The rules were definitely not followed, but that’s not the main focus now,” said RCMP Sergeant Marc LaPorte.