About 50,000 Canadian passports that were lost or stolen in the last four years have fallen into the hands of criminals or terrorists, a Montreal newspaper reported on Friday.

Le Journal de Montréal said it found the information in documents RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli filed with Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, dated Feb. 6. It acquired the documents through the Access to Information Act.

The newspaper said the documents are a compilation of several reports, portions of which were not released under the Act.

In documents that dealt with reducing the terrorist threat, investigators were looking into whether suppliers of fake passports might be terrorists or might have ties to terrorist groups.
 
Day wouldn't comment on the number of missing passports, the newspaper said.

In the auditor general's report in 2004, Sheila Fraser said about 25,000 passports are reported lost or stolen every year.

With files from the Canadian Press