When police raided Quayyam Abdul Jamal's house in the summer of 2006 and arrested him on terrorism charges, he says, he thought it was all just a terrible mistake.

It was the evening of June 2, when hundreds of officers descended on the homes of five youths and 10 men in Toronto and the nearby city of Mississauga, alleging they were all part of a home-grown terror cell.

Quayyam Abdul Jamal, 45, spoke to CBC in his home in Mississauga.
(CBC)

Two others were already in custody, and another would be arrested later in the summer to make up what the media would dub "the Toronto 18."

But that evening, Jamal says, he had no idea that he would spend the next year and a half behind bars.

The first indication of what lay ahead came when he caught a glimpse of a TV newscast at the police station.
 
"I saw the TV, and they were saying something about four tons of explosives," Jamal told CBC News in an interview aired Wednesday.

"That shocked me, and then I realized there's something serious here I've been dragged into."

Described as the ringleader

Jamal, 45, was the oldest of the 18 Muslim-Canadian suspects and was described in court documents as the ringleader of a group that was planning to bomb targets in downtown Toronto, storm Parliament and take politicians hostage.

He would spend the next 18 months in jail, mostly in solitary confinement, before his eventual release on bail on Nov. 5, 2007.

Then on April 15, in a stunning development, charges laid under Canada's Anti-terrorism Act were stayed against Jamal and three other suspects — Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, Ibrahim Aboud and Yasim Mohamed.

Last year, charges against three of the youths were also stayed. The once-Toronto 18 was down to 11.

But Jamal says from the day of his arrest, he felt that the police and guards were taking the terrorism-related charges against him personally.

Realized later he might be set free

"From the police truck, they're just dragging us, beating us, throwing on the ground, you know, pushing against the wall," he said. "That's how it happened. That's how it start."

It wasn't until later, when Jamal looked over the Crown's evidence, that he says he realized that he might eventually be set free.

"I said, 'Oh, my god, they have nothing against me," he said. "I called my lawyer and said, 'What is there against me? Why am I here?'"

His lawyer's response, Jamal says, was: "Oh, it's the system, you know, because you are charged with a group."

Jamal is still not really free. As part of the deal with the Crown to secure a stay of proceedings, peace bonds were issued for the men, under which Jamal must meet several conditions:

• Obeying an 8 p.m. curfew.
• Agreeing to not communicate with others charged.
• Not applying for a passport.

And Jamal says the effects of his arrest will linger not only in the damage done to his reputation, but that of his wife Cheryfa and their four young children as well.

"I can't erase it," he says. "That's the damaging part. I'm going to suffer. I will suffer. My family will suffer. Probably, my children will suffer."