Project O Canada

[3] It was later criticised for bringing together forty members from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) Commercial Crimes, IPOC, and National Security Investigations branches, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Customs and Revenue Agency, Canada Border Services Agency, the Quebec and Ontario provincial police, and local officers from Hull, Gatineau and Ottawa.

[3] Its first task was to help Toronto by taking over the investigation of the electronics store owner Abdullah Almalki, who had worked for Human Concern International at the same time as Khadr.

Mike Cabana,[16] quickly moved from providing assistance to their Toronto colleagues, and began conducting their own investigations focusing primarily on Abdullah Almalki and Ahmad Abou El Maati.

He was subsequently placed under surveillance by Project A-O,[3][9] and his name added to a Canada Customs "terrorist lookout list", although it was later determined there was no evidence to support such an action.

[16] The Americans later used faxes detailing the sale of walkie talkies seized at Almalki's house in the raid as evidence in their trial against Mohamad Elzahabi.

Rick Flewelling, from the RCMP headquarters, intervened and insisted that the Department of Justice and Foreign Affairs would have to be involved [16][21] In September 2002, the A-O division began asking the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) to help them secure the ability to travel to Syria to interrogate Almalki themselves, or at least direct how he would be interrogated by Syrians.

Abdullah stated that when he was about 14 years old, his father had purchased two pairs of walkie talkies from Almalki, although his lawyers later argued the statement had been made due to his mistreatment by Pakistani officials.