# CBSA:  Help Us Catch War Criminals in Canada



## The Bread Guy (21 Jul 2011)

> Today, the federal government asked Canadians to help in identifying 30 individuals accused of, or complicit in, war crimes or crimes against humanity, and who are thought to be hiding out in locations across Canada. The announcement was made in Toronto by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, and Luc Portelance, President of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) .... Canada is recognized around the world for its leadership in global efforts to hold persons suspected of, or complicit in, serious human rights abuses accountable for their crimes through cooperation with other countries and international tribunals .... The CBSA, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Department of Justice, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police work cooperatively with international partners to ensure that those who have engaged in such crimes find no sanctuary in Canada .... “We hope that reaching out to the public today will enhance the ability of the CBSA and its partner organizations to effectively deal with persons complicit in these acts,” said (CBSA) President (Luc) Portelance. “I'm here with the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, to encourage the public to provide any information to the CBSA about violations of our immigration law or suspicious cross-border activity by calling the Border Watch Toll-free line or their local police.” .... Help us keep our borders safe. If you have information about suspicious cross-border activity or immigration-related offences, please contact the Canada Border Services Agency Border Watch Toll-free Line at 1-888-502-9060.


Source:  CBSA news release, 21 Jul 11

Here's the "Top 30" list.  An interesting mix of originating countries:
- Africa (Algeria, Peru, Sudan, Somalia, Angola, Nigeria, DRC, Ghana):  12
- South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka):  8
- Central/South America (Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras):  6
- Other (Haiti, Iraq, Yugoslavia):  4


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## AJFitzpatrick (22 Jul 2011)

That was quick

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/07/22/suspected-war-criminal.html

"Suspected war criminal arrested in Alberta"


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## The Bread Guy (24 Jul 2011)

Followed in close succession by #2....


> The Canada Border Services Agency says tips from the public have led to arrest of a second person suspected of being complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
> 
> Arshad Muhammad from Pakistan, whose last known address was Montreal, is now in custody, the agency said. He was arrested Saturday in Mississauga, Ont., after a member of Peel Regional Police spotted him in a store.
> 
> Muhammad's last known address was Montreal but the federal government lost track of him after he was deemed inadmissible to Canada in 2001 ....


Source:  CBC.ca, 23 Jul 11

2 down, 28 to go - now let's see how long it takes for "the process" to work its way through.


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## The Bread Guy (26 Jul 2011)

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> *2 down, 28 to go* - now let's see how long it takes for "the process" to work its way through.


Make that 3 down, 27 to go:


> BREAKING NEWS: Minister Toews will reveal the identity of the 3rd suspected war criminal to be apprehended at 12:40 CST in Winnipeg.


Source:  PM's spokesperson's Twitter feed, 26 Jul 11


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## The Bread Guy (26 Jul 2011)

> Tips and information from the Canadian public have resulted in the capture of one more individual suspected of being complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity. This update follows the announcement on July 21, 2011 by the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety and the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, urging Canadians to help in identifying 30 individuals suspected of being complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity, and who are thought to be hiding out in locations across Canada.
> 
> The Government reports that tips pouring into the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Border Watch Line as well as law enforcement partners across the country have resulted in the apprehension of one of the individuals named on the CBSA web site. Manuel De La Torre Herrera from Peru was found in the Toronto area and is now in CBSA custody ....


Source:  CBSA statement, 26 Jul 11


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## The Bread Guy (27 Jul 2011)

Rolling 'em up....


> BREAKING NEWS: Ministers Toews & Kenney will reveal the identity of the 4th suspected war criminal to be apprehended. 13:30 in Ottawa


Source:  PMO Twitter feed, 27 Jul 11


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## cupper (27 Jul 2011)

I'm not surprised that the CBSA has had to resort to this type of contracted out law enforcement. These are the same people who finally decided to let me leave without paying duty on an excess amount of chewing tobacco because they couldn't figure out how to convert ounces to grams.  :


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## The Bread Guy (27 Jul 2011)

> A fourth fugitive whose face was posted online by border authorities has been nabbed.
> 
> Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says Henry Pantoja Carbonel was arrested in Toronto.
> 
> ...


Source:  The Canadian Press, 27 Jul 11



> There are no guarantees that any of the suspected war criminals recently nabbed with the help of an online "wanted" list will actually face justice in their home countries.
> 
> Federal ministers said Wednesday Canada simply wants to get rid of the men because their alleged crimes make them inadmissible.
> 
> ...


Source:  The Canadian Press, 27 Jul 11


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## Fishbone Jones (27 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> I'm not surprised that the CBSA has had to resort to this type of contracted out law enforcement. These are the same people who finally decided to let me leave without paying duty on an excess amount of chewing tobacco because they couldn't figure out how to convert ounces to grams.  :



Can that brush get any bigger? :


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## The Bread Guy (27 Jul 2011)

Some info on how long the process might take, in spite of the quick arrests....

"On *August 20, 2007*, CIC served its first Notice of Revocation of Citizenship to a person suspected of committing war crimes after the Second World War. Branko Rogan was served the Notice for allegedly obtaining his status in Canada by knowingly making false representations and concealing material circumstances regarding his activities as a guard and dealings with prisoners, in the town of Bileca, Bosnia Herzegovina."

*April 2011*:  Rogan goes to Federal Court of Canada to seek a reversal of the revocation of his citizenship - more on that here.

Can't find anything saying he's been shown the door just yet - and he admitted to lying to get into Canada (while denying the war crime charges).


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## J.J (27 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> I'm not surprised that the CBSA has had to resort to this type of contracted out law enforcement. These are the same people who finally decided to let me leave without paying duty on an excess amount of chewing tobacco because they couldn't figure out how to convert ounces to grams.  :



You are complaining because you didn't have to pay??? The taxes would have been quite high, so I guess you got a break. If you would like to pass me your tombstone data I can insure you don't get a break next time and you can pay everything owed....

Almost all major law enforcement agencies have a most wanted list, what are your comments on that?


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## The Bread Guy (27 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> I'm not surprised that the CBSA has had to resort to this type of *contracted out* law enforcement.


How is it "contracted out"?  The same players (CBSA, RCMP, CIC, local police) are involved in the process, and the last I heard, these groups are all paid out of taxpayer pockets.


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## cupper (27 Jul 2011)

WR said:
			
		

> You are complaining because you didn't have to pay???



The point I was trying to make, which apparently was lost, was that between the 6 (and I am not exaggerating here) CBSA officers working the counter, not one of them was able to figure out how to convert ounces to grams so they could figure the correct duty I owed. I would expect that there would be at least one officer on staff who was capable of doing simple math, even if it meant looking up on the internet what the conversion was.

It was the lack of competence that pissed me off. The fact that I didn't pay duty was just a bonus. I would expect better form the people who were defending our border.

Remember that these are the same people who when they finally were allowed to carry side arms had a high failure rate on basic firearms training.


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## cupper (27 Jul 2011)

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> How is it "contracted out"?  The same players (CBSA, RCMP, CIC, local police) are involved in the process, and the last I heard, these groups are all paid out of taxpayer pockets.



By contracted out, I meant that they were asking the public to do the job that they are being paid to do. Perhaps it was a bit over the top.


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## J.J (27 Jul 2011)

Remember that these are the same people who when they finally were allowed to carry side arms had a high failure rate on basic firearms training.
[/quote]

I do concede that they should have figured it out, but most of them care very little about collecting taxes anymore, most only do it because they are told to.

I call bullshit on your comment about the firearms program. You are the typical person believing everything the media prints. I taught the first firearm courses and I am still an instructor. The failure rate is similar to the RCMP depot and the Ontario Police College. The course is very difficult and you are taking employees who did not sign on to be armed and they are do as well, if not better than most law enforcement agencies with young recruits who have 4-6 months to learn what CBSA learns in 3 weeks.



			
				cupper said:
			
		

> By contracted out, I meant that they were asking the public to do the job that they are being paid to do. Perhaps it was a bit over the top.



Here are a few examples of agencies that use most wanted or utilize citizens to report crimes...you may recognize some of the agencies.

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/wanted-recherches/index-eng.htm
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/homicide/mostwanted.php
http://www.calgarycrimestoppers.org/
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/883012--police-show-new-most-wanted-list
http://www.manassascity.org/index.aspx?NID=58


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## cupper (28 Jul 2011)

WR said:
			
		

> I call bullshit on your comment about the firearms program. You are the typical person believing everything the media prints. I taught the first firearm courses and I am still an instructor. The failure rate is similar to the RCMP depot and the Ontario Police College. The course is very difficult and you are taking employees who did not sign on to be armed and they are do as well, if not better than most law enforcement agencies with young recruits who have 4-6 months to learn what CBSA learns in 3 weeks.



Fair enough. I stand corrected.


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## aesop081 (28 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> By contracted out, I meant that they were asking the public to do the job that they are being paid to do. Perhaps it was a bit over the top.



You know, even the most professional police forces often ask the public for help.


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## Scott (28 Jul 2011)

I come back into Canada via air about every 6 weeks and have done so through Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Over the last three years that makes for quite a few interactions with CBSA and I have never, not once, found them to be anything but polite, professional and friendly. In fact, I wish some of the folk from the airlines would take a lesson from these people.


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## The Bread Guy (28 Jul 2011)

Scott said:
			
		

> I come back into Canada via air about every 6 weeks and have done so through Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Over the last three years that makes for quite a few interactions with CBSA and *I have never, not once, found them to be anything but polite, professional and friendly*. In fact, I wish some of the folk from the airlines would take a lesson from these people.


Agreed.  I've been crossing the border south of here 6-8 times a year for the past several years, and I've only had _one_ instance where discretion seemed just a tad unreasonable - a FAR better track record than a lot of agencies who deal with the public.



			
				cupper said:
			
		

> By contracted out, I meant that they were asking the public to do the job that they are being paid to do. Perhaps it was a bit over the top.


And Canadian enforcement agencies aren't the only ones happy to get info from the public from time to time, either, 
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted
http://www.interpol.int/Public/Wanted/Search/Recent.asp


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## cupper (28 Jul 2011)

This will be my last comment on  this subject, as it appears to have derailed the topic, and I admit that the comment was unfair and painted the larger group with a broad brush. 

I am not being critical of the way I was being treated. The entire time I was treated in a friendly, professional manner, as I would expect. I wasn't hassled, made to feel like a criminal, talked down to, or lectured. I was forthright with the fact that I had exceeded the limit by a mistake on my part, and was fully prepared to pay any duty, penalties, etc. that were owed. I understood and accepted that the inconvenience that I was experiencing was part of them doing the job.

Since moving to the US in 2001 I've travelled home to Canada at least once a year, and this was the only time I've had issues entering Canada.
Not so when entering the US, but that has more to say about the differences in attitudes from one country to the other.

The problem I had was that no one at that particular crossing was able to figure out a simple conversion. Something that they need to be able to do day in and day out. It's not like I was the first person to bring goods into Canada from the US which was marked in Imperial measures instead of Metric measures. I have a problem with not being able to do the job you are supposed to be trained to do. It's not like they were having difficulty with figuring out what classification the product fell under in the multiple listings for tobacco types, each with it's own tariff rate. It's not like it was a piece of equipment that could fall into one of a hundred different classifications. They were stumped with a simple conversion, something that they learned through out their entire academic career. They even tried to look it up on the office computer, and couldn't find the correct information.


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## Fishbone Jones (28 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> This will be my last comment on  this subject, as it appears to have derailed the topic, and I admit that the comment was unfair and painted the larger group with a broad brush.
> 
> I am not being critical of the way I was being treated. The entire time I was treated in a friendly, professional manner, as I would expect. I wasn't hassled, made to feel like a criminal, talked down to, or lectured. I was forthright with the fact that I had exceeded the limit by a mistake on my part, and was fully prepared to pay any duty, penalties, etc. that were owed. I understood and accepted that the inconvenience that I was experiencing was part of them doing the job.
> 
> ...



Of course, you volunteered to tell them how to convert it, right?


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## Good2Golf (28 Jul 2011)

recceguy said:
			
		

> Of course, you volunteered to tell them how to convert it, right?



Maybe the OP didn't realize that the guys might have actually been giving him a break, and were looking for a somewhat believable excuse to do so.  I'm quite sure that had they really wanted to, they could have multiplied oz. by 28.375 to get grams....I think this is called "looking a gift horse in the mouth".


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## cupper (28 Jul 2011)

recceguy said:
			
		

> Of course, you volunteered to tell them how to convert it, right?



Apparently the I-Phone app I used to get the correct information for them wasn't trustworthy enough. ;D

Seriously, I showed them the correct info using an app on my I-Phone, and they wouldn't accept it as being correct.


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## Fishbone Jones (28 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> Apparently the I-Phone app I used to get the correct information for them wasn't trustworthy enough. ;D
> 
> Seriously, I showed them the correct info using an app on my I-Phone, and they wouldn't accept it as being correct.



At which time, I'm guessing, they were probably thinking to themselves "What does it take for this guy to get the hint that we don't want to charge him?"

Ah well. Guess I'm just lucky that on numerous trips back and forth, I have found our CBSA pers to be professional and personable.

I'll leave it there.


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## J.J (28 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> This will be my last comment on  this subject, as it appears to have derailed the topic, and I admit that the comment was unfair and painted the larger group with a broad brush.
> 
> I am not being critical of the way I was being treated. The entire time I was treated in a friendly, professional manner, as I would expect. I wasn't hassled, made to feel like a criminal, talked down to, or lectured. I was forthright with the fact that I had exceeded the limit by a mistake on my part, and was fully prepared to pay any duty, penalties, etc. that were owed. I understood and accepted that the inconvenience that I was experiencing was part of them doing the job.
> 
> ...



There are dozens different type of tobacco tariffs, with some having minute differences such as how is it flavoured, is it wine or fruit, where was it manufactured, the amount (if it is more than a certain amount it gets one type of tax etc). Some tobacco is taxed very high and others have the "normal" tax. I found tobacco to be the hardest item to classify due to it's various taxes and the vast differences in the item.  Provincial taxes are always the highest, but if the tobacco was manufactured outside of North America there is now duty and import taxes etc

I doubt the conversion was an issue as the program has it built in.


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## The Bread Guy (28 Jul 2011)

Easing back into alleged war criminals, #5 is reportedly rounded up....


> Tips and information from the Canadian public have resulted in the capture of a fifth individual suspected of being complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity. This update follows the announcement on July 21, 2011 by the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety and the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, urging Canadians to help in identifying 30 individuals suspected of being complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity, and who are thought to be hiding out in locations across Canada.  Abraham Bahaty Bayavuge from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was found in Ottawa and is now in CBSA custody ....


Source:  CBSA news release, 28 Jul 11

.... and the nabbed Peruvian should be on his way back shortly:


> A suspected war criminal from Peru, who had been hiding illegally in Canada, is being shipped home to face the music.
> 
> Manuel De La Torre Herrera, 57, was denied release at a detention review with the Immigration and Refugee Board because is is considered to be an extreme flight risk.
> 
> ...


Source:  _Toronto Sun_, 28 Jul 11


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## cupper (28 Jul 2011)

WR said:
			
		

> I doubt the conversion was an issue as the program has it built in.



No, it was the conversion. The officer that took the tobacco went through the system, figured out the correct tariff rate, but couldn't figure the correct weight to enter. She asked the other officer that was on the desk, the supervisor, and the other officer who was keeping watch on me if they knew how to convert ounces to grams. Two other officers that came in couldn't help either. This went on for 20 minutes. Even after I offered the info.



			
				recceguy said:
			
		

> At which time, I'm guessing, they were probably thinking to themselves "What does it take for this guy to get the hint that we don't want to charge him?"


This went on for 20 minutes inside the building, after spending another 10 minutes going through the car. At no time while I was waiting for a charge did they say anything to me, with the exception of the officer babysitting me, who was discussing the weather in Virginia, and whom I offered the use of the I-Phone app.

So if they were dropping subtle hints, they need to work on their communication skills.
If they were trying to say you don't need to pay, they could have just said go ahead and remember the limit next time.


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## J.J (28 Jul 2011)

I am not going further derail the original intent of this post. I have my thoughts about this and I will keep them to myself.

Back to the originally scheduled program.


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## 57Chevy (28 Jul 2011)

I think they have done a good job at nabbing some of these numbskulls since the news release dated 21 Jul, 
 which is what the thread is supposed to be all about.

 so can the weights and measures ordeal of the chewing tobacco already. 

Thanks  ;D


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## The Bread Guy (9 Aug 2011)

Amnesty International point:


> .... Prioritizing charging individuals with relevant criminal offences, if warranted by the evidence, in Canada or another jurisdiction where a fair trial would be guaranteed ....



Jason Kenney counterpoint:


> .... Our primary duty as a government is to protect Canada and Canadians.  Deporting these men discharges this duty and ensures Canada will not become a sanctuary for international war criminals and serious human rights abusers.  We are not obligated to conduct full-blown trials, at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars, to prosecute every inadmissible individual for crimes committed in distant countries, often decades ago.  In addition to the extraordinary time and cost this would require, it would burden an already-strained legal system and clog our courts with foreign criminals.  Moreover, in many cases the lack of accessible evidence, local witnesses and a meaningful connexion between Canada and the crimes committed would make prosecution a quixotic proposition.  That said, where an individual is the subject of a warrant from a foreign court or tribunal, we will consider turning him over to the appropriate authorities ....



Another counterpoint:


> .... you claim to be “concerned about the fact that these cases have been so widely publicized” given the “reputational harm” it may cause these men and the hypothetical risk it may impose on them or their relatives.  No doubt such exquisitely burnished sympathy does you credit.  However, as a former AI member, may I suggest that ostentatious hand-wringing over the good name of war criminals and human rights violators may sit uneasily with those AI members who, perhaps naively, believe your compassion should be reserved for their victims ....


More in the open letters.


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## The Bread Guy (18 Aug 2011)

_*MORE*_ criminals (not just war criminals) added to the "help us find them" list!
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/wc-cg/criminality-criminalite-eng.html


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## The Bread Guy (19 Aug 2011)

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Some info on how long the process might take, in spite of the quick arrests....
> 
> "On *August 20, 2007*, CIC served its first Notice of Revocation of Citizenship to a person suspected of committing war crimes after the Second World War. Branko Rogan was served the Notice for allegedly obtaining his status in Canada by knowingly making false representations and concealing material circumstances regarding his activities as a guard and dealings with prisoners, in the town of Bileca, Bosnia Herzegovina."
> 
> ...


18 Aug 11:  This just in (PDF) from the Federal Court of Canada


> The Minister seeks a declaration that Mr. Rogan obtained his Canadian citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances. Upon review, the Court finds that at the time that he was working as a prison guard at the detention facilities in Bileca, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mr. Rogan was well aware of the fact that prisoners were being subjected to physical abuse, including beatings, that he was directly involved in the physical abuse of prisoners, and that he was not acting under duress. Furthermore, the Court finds that Mr. Rogan knowingly misrepresented his educational qualifications in his application for permanent residence, did not accurately disclose his addresses for the period between 1986 and 1994, misrepresented his employment history, and did not answer truthfully and knowingly concealed material information in relation to his involvement in crimes against humanity perpetrated against the male Muslim civilian population of Bileca in the summer of 1992.  As a result, *the Court concludes that Mr. Rogan obtained his Canadian citizenship by false representation or fraud and by knowingly concealing material circumstances*.


More in full decision here (PDF).


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## 57Chevy (23 Aug 2011)

Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act
Federal government nets three men on wanted list
Robert Hiltz, Postmedia News/23 August
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Federal+government+nets+three+wanted+list/5292570/story.html#ixzz1VqkgYlaO

Twenty-four hours after releasing a most-wanted list of people sought for deportation, the government netted three men - including one charged in a $100-million drug bust in 2004.

Xun Ricky Zhang was apprehended by the Canada Border Services Agency on Thursday in Richmond, B.C. Zhang was first ordered deported in 2005 after serving time in prison for his part in producing ecstasy in a Toronto suburb, according to documents filed in an Immigration and Refugee Board appeal. His final 2008 appeal failed because he spent more than two years behind bars.

Zhang, an immigrant from China, was arrested in 2004 after police tracked him and six other men between two homes and two warehouses in Markham, Ont. York Regional Police found over 1,000 kilograms of liquid and powered ecstasy. At the time, police said the amount of the drug found could have produced 10 million ecstasy pills. Zhang had also been convicted of assault, robbery and theft.

A new most-wanted list was released by the government with the names and photographs of 30 men and two women, immigrants who are wanted for deportation because they were convicted of crimes in Canada.

Another man apprehended by authorities, Reginald King, was ordered deported after a 2003 incident in which he repeatedly tried to enter a Toronto nightclub with a loaded weapon, according to court sentencing documents. King was apprehended Friday in Walford, Ont., a small town in northern Ontario, about 200 kilometres east of Sault Ste. Marie.

Walter Ernesto Guzman surrendered to Montreal police Friday and was handed over to the CBSA. He has been convicted of drug trafficking, assault, break and enter and uttering threats.


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## The Bread Guy (4 Jun 2012)

A few more add-ons to the list, including an alleged war criminal from Senegal and some other bad apples....


> Today, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) added five new profiles of individuals to the "Wanted by the CBSA" list.
> 
> The "Wanted by the CBSA" program has proven to be a useful tool in assisting border services officers to locate individuals who are wanted for removal. To date, as a result of the "Wanted by the CBSA" program, Canadians have assisted in locating 25 individuals in Canada, while five individuals were located abroad. In addition, the CBSA has removed 19 of these individuals from Canada. These five new profiles announced today are featured alongside cases highlighted in the past.
> 
> Today, it was also confirmed that Damion Rami Butler, an individual who is on the list for serious criminality, was removed from Canada on May 31. On January 18, Butler was apprehended by the Immigration Task Force (which includes officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police, Toronto police and the CBSA) in the Greater Toronto Area as a result of a tip received from the public ....


CBSA Info-machine, 4 Jun 12


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