Toronto soldiers charged in kidnapping were looking for cryptocurrency, police say

A violent Toronto kidnapping involving three Canadian soldiers was an attempt to force the victim into handing over access to cryptocurrency, police said Wednesday, revealing the alleged motive for the bizarre plot.

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The July 25 kidnapping took place in a residential Toronto neighbourhood at Finch Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. The target: the owner of a cryptocurrency exchange.

The kidnappers grabbed their victim as he approached his vehicle and abducted him at gunpoint, Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw told reporters at a press conference.

“He was handcuffed and assaulted. The suspects allegedly attempted to gain access to his cryptocurrency assets” and business-related security systems.

The victim was later released and threatened not to contact police, said Chief Supt. Joe Matthews of Detective Operations.

But he did just that.

Police wouldn’t say Wednesday whether the kidnappers were successful in getting cryptocurrency from their victim, who suffered minor injuries. His name is banned from publication.

“What started as a kidnapping investigation became much larger,” said Demkiw. “In total, seven suspects have been arrested and 82 criminal charges have been laid.”

Within 24 hours, police had identified a vehicle used by the kidnappers, and two suspects were arrested, Matthews said.

“By Sept. 24, all seven accused had been arrested and charged,” Matthews said.

Police — who conducted searches of vehicles and residences across the Greater Toronto Area — seized four firearms during their probe, two of which were 3D printed, two silencers, 10 overcapacity magazines, more than 2,700 rounds of ammunition, half of which were blanks, cell phones, a replica firearm and “a large quantity of methamphetamine, cocaine and other controlled substances,” Matthews said.

“Investigators later determined that approximately 2,500 rounds of the ammunition and five over-capacity magazines had been stolen from the Canadian Armed Forces.”

The investigation “highlights an evolving trend that we are seeing in serious criminal activity,” Matthews said.

The victim was targeted because the kidnappers thought he had access to cryptocurrency assets, he said. “Criminals continue to adapt their methods and identify new opportunities for financial gain.”

Police haven’t connected the kidnapping to other Toronto abductions “at this point,” Matthews said, though police are still going through cell phones seized during the investigation.

The three soldiers charged are Talarambage Sachintha Fernando, James Moreau and Jack Miley. All three men are members of the 7th Toronto Regiment, a reserve artillery unit based at Moss Park Armoury in Toronto.

“Their training that they had received through the military is quite concerning, not only to the victims of this type of violence, but also to our officers that may encounter them,” Matthews said. “These are highly trained individuals with access to firearms.”

Charges against Miley include using a handgun during the kidnapping and pointing it at the kidnapping victim.

Miley of Etobicoke is a 24-year-old master bombardier, a rank equivalent to master corporal.

He has been a reservist since enrolling in the Canadian Army in August 2018. He deployed last year on Operation Reassurance, the NATO mission in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Baltics in response to Russian aggression.

Fernando, 22, of North York, and Moreau, 29, of Markham, have both been charged with kidnapping for ransom, forcible confinement, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, the use of a firearm during an indictable offence and mischief.

Both men are bombardiers, a rank that’s equivalent to corporal.

Fernando is also charged with storing five types of ammunition in a careless manner on Aug. 11, the day he was arrested. Those include .223 caliber ammunition, .223 caliber blanks, 9 mm bullets, .270 caliber ammunition and 12-gauge shotgun shells. All were “property of the Canadian Armed Forces,” according to court documents.

Police charged Fernando for possessing a nine millimetre handgun and a Churchill 12-gauge shotgun without a licence, as well as prohibited over-capacity magazines.

He enrolled in the Army as a reservist in January 2020.

Miley was also in possession of one round of the military’s 25mm Bushmaster ammunition when he was arrested last month, according to court documents.

Police also seized a Beretta handgun and ammunition for the weapon during their investigation.

Moreau enrolled as a reservist in March 2018 and deployed on Operation LASER in 2020 — the military’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Defence confirmed last week that all three soldiers have been removed from duty and their access to Armed Forces’ equipment, facilities and bases restricted.

They all remain in the military pending the outcome of an administrative review.

All three soldiers were military instructors within the Greater Toronto Area, said one source.

Four other Toronto men who are not in the military — Raheem Bishop-Jackson, 24, Saiefeddine Adem, 22, Christian Darbandi, 39, and Suhaib Alekozai, 39 — have also been charged in the kidnapping.

During the investigation, police also seized a replica firearm, multiple knives and hatchets, GPS tracking devices, a money counter, portable radios, handcuffs, a Balaclava, a baton, crossbow and arrows, firearm storage boxes and cash.

Moreau, Bishop-Jackson and Adem are also facing charges of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

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