Saad Khalid, 23, who pleaded guilty in the so-called Toronto 18 conspiracy, was credited with seven years for time in pretrial custody. He will spend a maximum of seven more years in prison. Khalid can apply for parole in two years and four months. Justice Bruce Durno called terrorism “the most vile form of criminal conduct” and said while Khalid was not the prime mover behind the bomb plot, he had nonetheless, played a significant role.
Khalid was caught in a police sting on June 2, 2006, when hundreds of police swept across Toronto to round up more than a dozen young Muslim men. He was caught unloading boxes marked “ammonium nitrate” from the back of a truck and later admitted he knew the fertilizer was intended to be used to construct truck bombs to be detonated in the downtown core. He pleaded guilty in May 2009.
Khalid was a target of an RCMP undercover investigation called Project Osage, Canada’s most high-profile counter-terrorism operation since the 9/11 attacks. Eighteen suspects were arrested but charges against seven were eventually stayed. Nine adults are scheduled to go on trial early next year. A fund established to pay for Khalid’s education following his release has raised $63,000.
