Two Canadian reservists charged in abduction case
The servicemen have been removed from their posts while Toronto Police continues its investigation.
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Two Canadian Army reservists have been charged in Toronto in a case involving organised crime, abduction and weapons theft. Canada’s Department of National Defence says their access to military sites and equipment has been withdrawn.
The two servicemen are members of the 7th Toronto Regiment, a reserve unit based in Toronto. According to the Department of National Defence, they were arrested by Toronto Police on 11 August. The authorities have not made all details about the allegations public.
According to Canadian media, the charges relate to organised crime, abduction and the theft of firearms and other weapons. These are allegations; there has been no judicial ruling on their guilt. Toronto Police had not yet substantively responded to media questions on Monday.
The department says both men were removed from military service after their arrests. Their access to equipment, buildings and bases of the Canadian Armed Forces has been restricted. They remain formally members of the armed forces until an administrative review has been completed.
According to the department, one of the reservists joined the Canadian Army in 2018 and was deployed in 2020 as part of Operation LASER, the military operation during the coronavirus pandemic. The other joined in 2020 and, according to National Defence, was not deployed on an operation by the Canadian Armed Forces.
The case is sensitive for Canada because reservists function in society alongside their military work and may have access to military networks and facilities. The public information does not show that military weapons or resources were used in the alleged offences, nor whether there is any connection to an operational mission.
The next steps lie with the criminal proceedings and the internal review by National Defence. Until more information becomes available, it remains unclear what the precise role of the two suspects may have been and what evidence the police have collected in the case.
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The core facts have been confirmed by two Canadian news organisations. The text remains cautious about the contents of the police investigation and emphasises that these are allegations.
- confirmed Two members of the Canadian Armed Forces were arrested in Toronto. — Confirmed by CityNews and Global News on the basis of information from Canada’s Department of National Defence. source
- confirmed The arrests took place on 11 August. — Mentioned in Global News’ report. source
- confirmed The two are members of the 7th Toronto Regiment. — Stated by the Department of National Defence and reported by both news organisations. source
- confirmed Their access to military posts, buildings and equipment has been restricted. — This is stated in the Department of National Defence’s statement. source
- confirmed The two remain formally members of the Canadian Armed Forces pending an administrative review. — Confirmed by a National Defence spokesperson. source
Editor's note
The arrests, the unit, the nature of the charges and the measures taken by National Defence have been described by two Canadian news organisations on the basis of information from the department. Police have not yet publicly explained the precise allegations or the evidence.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „canada toronto”
- NU.nl — „canada toronto”
- De Telegraaf — „canada toronto”