Canada fraud scheme linked to terrorist activities

CALGARY - A criminal cell operating across Canada is funnelling millions of dollars to Dubai to fund terrorist activities through a sophisticated credit/debit card fraud scheme, says the head of Alberta's Integrated Response to Organized Crime unit.

It is but one of a number of ''extremely prevalent'' organized crime groups reaping huge profits from an old crime with a new twist, says Insp. Joan McCallum.

''You can make a million dollars a weekend in Calgary,'' said McCallum, noting the group also travels a ''circuit'' from Vancouver to Calgary to Toronto to Montreal. ''For one of the groups, it (cash) goes straight to terrorism in Dubai and some of the other countries. They live on nothing and send all their money to fund terrorist activities.'' Read more ...