Pakistani Al-Qeada terrorist busted in Canada(had ties to LeT)

Suspected al-Qaida captain busted

Man, 40, caught with suitcase, cash, bogus papers

AN ALLEGED TERRORIST --- with links to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden -- has been arrested in the Toronto area trying to flee the country, say Sun immigration sources.

In one of the most significant terrorism arrests in Canada since Sept. 11, 2001, a man believed to be a captain of the Pakistani extremist organization Mujahadeen-E-Lashkar-E-Tayyba or LET, which is funded by Osama bin Laden and has direct ties to al-Qaida, was arrested March 16, by Canadian border service officers in Newmarket.

Intelligence sources say members of the LET have been trained in Afghan terrorist camps.

Ontario immigration sources say 40-year-old Raja Ghulam Mustafa, a Pakistani national, who went by the last name Murtaza, was arrested outside his home with a packed suitcase and a significant amount of cash on him.

Following the arrest, conducted by the Canadian border service's Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre officers, Mustafa's residence was searched and a briefcase containing fraudulent documents and a laptop were seized.

It's believed that Mustafa may have been tipped off that GTEC officers were investigating him and that he made plans to flee to the U.S.

Officials told the Sun Mustafa was "surprised" that he was found by law enforcement.

Sources say Mustafa had already given his landlady notice that he would be leaving.

He is being held at the Toronto West Detention Centre.

In 1997, Mustafa was arrested on violations in the U.S. but was released on a peace bond after he filed a claim for refugee status.

LIVED WITH FUGITIVE

During that time he fled to Canada under a phony identity and was eventually able to secure refugee status here.

Mustafa moved to Newmarket to live with his brother-in-law Syed Maqsood Aly, a fugitive wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking and fraud, say sources.

Both men were at one point living with Syed's brother Nusrat Sheikh Aly -- a suspected human smuggler wanted by U.S. authorities.

It's now believed Nusrat Aly has fled the country.

Yesterday, both Canadian Border Services Agency and Immigration and refugee board officials were keeping tight-lipped on the arrest.

Charles Hawkins, spokesman for the IRB in Toronto, said he couldn't comment on the case.

However, the Sun has learned the case will be dealt with in private immigration hearings.

The Canada Border Services Agency also refused to comment on the case.