Who knew fighting homegrown jihad would be so lucrative?

When the Toronto Homegrown Jihadi plot was originally revealed to the general public last June, I went on record with numerous misgivings over it. And I quote moi:

Perhaps, it’s nothing more than the corrupting influence of spending a few years of my life as a criminal law clerk for two truly outstanding criminal defense lawyers. Call it the result of an occupational hazard but I seem to be a tad more suspicious than most of my contemporaries on the workings of law enforcement officials. I don’t doubt their sincerity, but a nudge or a shove to push someone over a line or two wouldn’t be unheard of either.

The authorities watched this alleged cell for approximately two years and when this group finally began to get their Jihadie act on the road - the authorities apprehended them in a rather extraordinarily timely fashion. Pity, they can't do for organized crime what they so obviously can do for Jihad in Canada. Frankly, it just seems a little too pat. I don’t think it would be entirely out of line to ask exactly who supplied the alleged Jihadists with the name of the fertilizer supplier or who helped draw up the plans.

I am reserving full judgment until the crown’s case is fully laid out and until that day; I cannot speculate accurately as to the how serious the intentions of the alleged perpetrators were nor can I realistically judge their commitment to Jihad in Canada. Let me direct – there is nothing like having an allegedly neutral undercover party cheering you on to higher highs or giving you a shove over the edge when you have been content to sit around with your buddies discussing how much Canadians/Christians/Jews suck while playing extreme camper now and then. Really, it seems more like Boys club than Jihad.

Chris at Taylor & Company sent me this link from a CTV report thinking it might make go uhuh, uhuh, uhuh:

A key informant in the arrests of 18 Toronto-area terror suspects was reportedly paid at least $500,000 for his role in the sting, according to The Globe and Mail.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, the newspaper said the man had initially asked police to pay him more than $14 million. The mole and his family are believed to be in a witness relocation program. Sources have said total payment could equal some $4 million when relocation costs are added up. The Globe, which knows the identity of the police agent, is banned from revealing it. The newspaper reports that the unidentified informant was struggling financially before he became a police agent.

Shortly after police made the arrests, he and his immediate family went missing. Members of the man's extended family have also relocated, The Globe reports, leading some to suggest they have also been moved by the state. Mubin Shaikh -- another police agent who went public with his role in the anti-terror sting -- is on the record as saying the RCMP paid him $300,000.

Shaikh, a prominent activist in Toronto's Muslim community, has revealed that he was moved to go undercover to protect Canada and that he worked for the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service and the RCMP for more than two years.

Last June, hundreds of police officers swept across the Greater Toronto Area to round up the suspects, mostly in their teens and 20s. The suspects were arrested last June in sweeping raids across the Greater Toronto Area. The suspects, who are predominantly young, Canadian-born Muslims, are accused of participating in a terrorist group, receiving training in a terrorist group and planning to use three tonnes of ammonium nitrate to detonate a series of bombs in Toronto.

I can’t wait for the trial to start so all of us can get a good hard look at the police disclosure. The more time which goes by the weaker the Crown’s case appears. My gut tells me that by the time the disclosure is finally introduced into evidence it will reflect very badly on all the government agencies involved. There are credible threats out there but I really don't believe this wasn't one of them despite the hype.

Update: The Globe and Mail offers more details into the financial backgrounds of the "moles".