Monday May. 31, 2010
MONTREAL (CP)— A man considered too dangerous to fly over the United States is facing deportation from Canada after his transatlantic flight was forced to land in Montreal.
Abdirahman Ali Gaal was identified on Monday as the suspect arrested by a team of police officers when they boarded a flight from Paris to Mexico City that made a sudden stop at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport over the weekend.
Gaal was the subject of an outstanding warrant, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
The Canada Border Services Agency initially told The Canadian Press that Gaal was also on a U.S. no-fly list.
"This person was known to us and he was deemed inadmissible before because he didn't comply to the Immigration Act," said Jacqueline Roby, an agency spokeswoman.
Roby said American officials asked them to divert the aircraft, saying it could not enter U.S. airspace.
"All we know is that this person could not fly over the United States," she said.
The agency later backed away from the claim Gaal was on the list, refusing to provide assurances its earlier confirmation was correct.
The Transportation Security Administration refused to confirm whether people are on a government watch list.
Little else is known about Gaal.
Citing privacy laws, Roby would not give any other details of the man, such as his age or country of origin.
She said he remains in detention pending his hearing on Wednesday.
Immigration Department spokesman Robert Gervais said details of the arrest would be made public at the hearing.
Those who witnessed Gaal's arrest on Sunday's Aeromexico flight said he offered no resistance when six police officers approached his seat.
"He was calm as if he knew what was going to happen," Mauricio Oliver, a 36-year-old Mexican passenger, told The Associated Press.
"They handcuffed him and they took him."
Another passenger, Mexican Sen. Javier Castellon said he was seated two rows behind the passenger who was arrested. He said the police approached a bearded man seated in seat 23h, who gave a wry smile and allowed himself to be handcuffed without resistance.
"Some people started to cry. There was a little bit of panic," Castellon said in an interview. "But the whole police operation lasted only a minute."
The remaining passengers were re-screened and allowed to reboard the flight, which continued on to Mexico City.
Several media reports suggested Gaal is a Somali, but that information could not be immediately confirmed.
Both the French and Mexican embassies refused to comment, while Somalian consular officials could not be reached.
The office of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews directed questions about why Canada would accept a suspect the U.S. considered too dangerous to let enter its airspace to the Canadian Border Services Agency.
"Canada works closely with all parties, domestic and international, on aviation safety and security," said agency spokesman Stephane Malepart.
"We might agree to some requests from other countries."
In what may be a related incident, authorities in the United States are currently on the lookout for a Somalian man with ties to an Islamist terror group who may be trying to enter the United States from Mexico.
Earlier this month, evidence surfaced in a Texas court of a human smuggling ring that snuck East Africans across the Mexican-U.S. border.
Among those smuggled across were several Somalis thought to have ties to terrorist groups.
Somalia has been in a protracted state of lawlessness since 1991. Recent conflict there has pitted hardline Islamists against pro-government forces backed by the United States.
The Islamist group that most concerns western intelligence agencies is Al-Shabaab, which declared allegiance to al Qaeda in 2009 and was added to Canada's list of proscribed terror groups in March.
It is feared Al-Shabaab is radicalizing the Somalian diaspora and using it to raise funds for terrorist activities.
Source: CP