Brampton, Ont.-Fahim Ahmad, 26, regarded as a leader of the Toronto 18 terror group, which plotted to unleash fertilizer bombs against Canada’s parliament and other targets in Toronto, was sentenced Oct. 25 in Ontario Superior Court to 16 years in prison. Canadian prosecutors described Ahmad as one of the organizers of a training camp held in December 2006 for potential recruits to carry out the terrorist plot. On May 3, while on trial with two of his co-accused, Ahmad changed his plea to guilty on all three counts against him. In doing so, he admitted to participating in a terrorist group, instructing others to carry out activities for a terrorist group, and importing firearms for the benefit of that group. He told the court he intended to storm Canada’s parliament, as well as bomb the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada’s spy agency offices, a military base, Ontario’s power grid, and a nuclear station. But according to Canadian press reports, Ontario Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson deemed Ahmad to be an ineffective terrorist and a braggart who was never close to actually carrying out his threats. Earlier this month, Asad Ansari, 25, was sentenced in the same court to 6½ years in prison for his role in the terrorist plot. However, since Ansari spent three years and three months in pre-trial custody, and under court practice of granting additional credit for time served, he has already completed his sentence and remains on probation for three years. According to Public Prosecution Service spokeswoman Nathalie Houle, two Toronto 18 members remain to be sentenced before all cases are closed. Shareef Abdelhaleem and Steven Chand will have sentencing hearings sometime in November.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain