Crypto-kidnapping in Toronto: 3 soldiers among 7 accused, 82 charges and 2,500 ammunition stolen from the army

Bombers for a wallet. Toronto police presented on Wednesday October 14 the results of an investigation opened on July 25, when the boss of a cryptocurrency exchange was kidnapped at gunpoint next to his car. Seven men are being prosecuted, 82 charges have been brought and three of the accused are reservists of the Canadian Armed Forces. Canada had already experienced a family tortured for $1.6 million in cryptos. This time, the searches also brought down an arsenal.

The scene takes place on the corner of Finch Avenue East and Bayview Avenue, in north Toronto. On July 25, the victim approached his vehicle. Armed men take him away, handcuff him and beat him. According to police, the kidnappers tried to access his crypto assets and the security systems of his company, an exchange whose name has not been communicated. The man was released with minor injuries and instructed not to call the police. He calls her anyway.

The Integrated Kidnapping Unit identifies the kidnappers' vehicle in less than 24 hours and arrests two suspects, Saiefeddine Adem, 22, and Raheem Bishop-Jackson, 24. Three other arrests followed on August 11, two more on September 24. Six of the seven accused are being prosecuted for kidnapping with demand for ransom. Police have not said whether the kidnappers managed to get their hands on any crypto. She also did not connect the case to other kidnappings recorded in Toronto, as the seized phones were still being analyzed.

Talarambage Sachintha Fernando, 22, James Moreau, 29, and Jack Miley, 24, all belong to the 7th Toronto Regiment, a reserve artillery unit based at the Moss Park Armory. The first two are bombardiers, the third is a master bomber, the equivalent of a master corporal. Moreau served in 2020 on Operation Laser, the Army's health deployment during the pandemic. Miley is accused of pointing a gun at the victim during the kidnapping. Fernando alone has 20 charges, almost all related to weapons.

The Ministry of National Defense revealed the arrest of two of them on October 5, without a word on cryptos. The three men were removed from service and deprived of access to bases and equipment, but they remain members of the Armed Forces during an administrative review. “These are highly trained individuals with access to firearms,” summarized Chief Superintendent Joe Matthews, quoted by the National Post. Police Chief Myron Demkiw was briefer. “No one is above the law. »

Searches in the Toronto area uncovered four firearms, including two 3D printed pistols, a shotgun, two silencers, ten overcapacity magazines, a crossbow, GPS trackers, radios, a money counter and a large quantity of methamphetamine and cocaine. And more than 2,700 cartridges. About 2,500 of them (half blank) and five magazines come from the stocks of the Canadian Armed Forces, according to the Toronto police press release. The army had not reported any thefts before the seizure.

For Joe Matthews, the case “highlights an evolving trend in serious crime”, with criminals adapting their methods to find new sources of profit. Clearly, crypto holders are identified as safes on legs and the kidnappers no longer need the black market when the employer provides the cartridges. The police have so far not established any links with a larger organized crime group, contrary to what the first Defense press release suggested.