A Toronto father and son who were arrested while in the “advanced stages” of planning a violent attack have been charged with multiple terrorism-related offences, the RMCP say.
Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and Mostafa Eldidi, 26, face a total of nine charges; including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit or at the direction of a terrorist group — namely the Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim militant organization.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Matt Peggs announced the charges at a news conference in Newmarket, Ont. on Wednesday.
The pair were arrested on July 28 in a hotel room in Richmond Hill after a month-long investigation that involved multiple police services, Peggs said.
The alleged attack was going to target Toronto, an RCMP investigator said, though the exact nature of the threat falls under a publication ban. The investigator said there is no ongoing danger to residents of the city.
The RCMP says a Toronto father and son have been charged with multiple terrorism-related offences after planning an attack targeting the city of Toronto. RCMP Superintendent James Pan said during a news conference on Wednesday that investigators are still trying to determine who were the targets of this attack, but there is no ongoing danger to residents of the city.
Court documents filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice show the duo reside at the same address in Scarborough, an eastern suburb within Toronto. Both are Canadian citizens, according to the RCMP.
A charge sheet also alleges Ahmad Fouad Mostafa Eldidi committed an aggravated assault for the benefit of the Islamic State in 2015 somewhere outside of Canada.
Both men also face weapons charges for the possession of a machete and an axe.
The pair are currently being held in police custody, and another court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.
More to come.