A young agricultural engineer became a mole for Canadian authorities during a sophisticated sting operation earlier this year because he wanted to help prevent a civilian calamity, the CBC program The Fifth Estate has learned.

The engineer, from a wealthy and prominent Toronto family of Egyptian background, is now in a witness protection program. He can't be named out of concern for the safety of his immediate family.

Some of the alleged bomb plot suspects appear in a Brampton courtroom on June 6, 2006. Those with their faces obscured were under 18 at the time of their arrest.
(John Mantha/CBC)

However, the CBC has learned that he played a key role in the investigation that led to dramatic raids in the Toronto area in June.

"He really felt, as a loyal Muslim Canadian, like he owed Canada something, to give back to it," said a close friend and former business associate who, for security reasons, can't be named. "And it's not surprising to see that he did that for the cause of Canada."

After the June raids, 18 youths and men were charged with offences involving firearms, terrorist training and explosion plots.

An ongoing investigation by The Fifth Estate previously uncovered details about the role played by another informant, Mubin Shaikh, who became worried that one or more members of the group posed a grave threat to Canada's national security.

He reported them to the authorities and later worked undercover during the police investigation.

Like the second mole, whose role is now emerging, Shaikh feared that a successful attack on a Canadian target would have been a social and political catastrophe for the Canadian Muslim community.

Informant gave details about bomb materials

The agricultural engineer, who is in his 20s and used to work for Air Canada, provided evidence to authorities that the conspirators had material they thought could be used to make bombs.

"His significance is that he crystallized the investigation," said journalist Linden MacIntyre, who prepared the story for The Fifth Estate. "In that sense, he is probably of greater significance than the first mole."

Authorities have alleged that at least some of the accused were conspiring to buy three tonnes of chemical fertilizer to blow up key symbolic targets in Toronto, including the Toronto Stock Exchange and an office of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Sources have told CBC that the young mole's degree in agricultural engineering could have given the alleged conspirators access to much larger quantities of ammonium nitrate than they could have purchased at ordinary retail outlets.

He is expected to be a key Crown witness in the trials of those charged in the alleged conspiracy.

Plea to involve Muslims in investigations

Mohamed Boudjenane, executive director of the Canadian Arab Federation, said it is about time that Canadian authorities involved Muslim Canadians in such investigations.

"What we've been saying from the beginning, to the government, to those security agencies, [is] that if you want intelligent intelligence, you have to bring to the table the Arab and the Muslim community," Boudjenane said.

"Because, after all, we are doubly victimized. We are the victims when there is any terrorist attack, because we could be killed as well, and we are the victim because we are portrayed as those terrorists."

Boudjenane said the young informant made enormous sacrifices to do what he thought was right.

"He left his job, he left everything for the sake of doing this, and it's going to be very difficult for him in the future."