A man suspected of having links to al-Qaeda managed to secure a visa to live in Canada and was later arrested at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, CBC's French-language service Radio-Canada reported Thursday evening.

The man, who is of Pakistani descent, obtained a visa to temporarily reside in Canada from the High Commissioner in London, according to a secret document sent to federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day from Canada Border Services last July.

The note, obtained by Radio-Canada, does not reveal the identity of the man but says he is implicated in al-Qaeda's mass destruction weapons program.

CBSA agents arrested the man on July 12, 2007, when he arrived in Toronto from Newcastle, England. While verifying his passport, they determined he had been flagged by Canadian authorities.

Customs agents interrogated the man. He then requested to be returned to England while renouncing his visa, but the pilot wouldn't let him on the plane.

He spent one night in a Toronto detention centre before being deported back to England.

British authorities were alerted about his return, but it's unclear where he is now.

With files from the Canadian Press