News / National
Bomb hoax Zimbabwean faces deportation from USA
16 Jun 2011 at 06:37hrs | Views
A refugee from Zimbabwe has been sentenced to four months in prison for telling a tall tale to customs agents that involved a bomb, radiation poisoning and George W. Bush's presidential library.
Bhekokuhle Dube, 29, made up the story upon landing at Montreal's Trudeau airport in an effort to dodge a domestic violence charge in Alberta.
He was charged with committing a hoax regarding a terrorist activity, a rarely used provision of the Criminal Code.
Dube pleaded guilty June 3 and faces deportation to his African homeland.
He had returned to Canada from Zimbabwe on May 6 and presented a student visa to customs at Trudeau airport.
An agent searched Dube and found that he also has refugee status, but Dube insisted he had never been to Canada. A fingerprint analysis proved otherwise, and Dube then changed his story.
He said he had returned to Canada to make a bomb to protect his family in the U.S. He presented agents with a piece of paper that showed blueprints for a prison.
Dube then pointed to his T-shirt, which was emblazoned with the name of Southern Methodist University, an institution in Dallas. Former U.S. president George W. Bush's official library is currently being built on the campus, and Dube said workers on the site would be targeted by commandos.
What's more, Dube also told customs officers he had a stomach ache because of prolonged exposure to radioactive materials.
He was taken to hospital and interviewed by RCMP investigators, who found his story to be bogus and charged him on May 14.
The Mounties say Dube invented the story to avoid being tried in Alberta, where he's suspected of domestic assault. He faces deportation once his sentence is complete, but that might not put an end to his legal problems.
Authorities in Alberta and the U.S. are investigating Dube in a fraud case.
Bhekokuhle Dube, 29, made up the story upon landing at Montreal's Trudeau airport in an effort to dodge a domestic violence charge in Alberta.
He was charged with committing a hoax regarding a terrorist activity, a rarely used provision of the Criminal Code.
Dube pleaded guilty June 3 and faces deportation to his African homeland.
He had returned to Canada from Zimbabwe on May 6 and presented a student visa to customs at Trudeau airport.
An agent searched Dube and found that he also has refugee status, but Dube insisted he had never been to Canada. A fingerprint analysis proved otherwise, and Dube then changed his story.
Dube then pointed to his T-shirt, which was emblazoned with the name of Southern Methodist University, an institution in Dallas. Former U.S. president George W. Bush's official library is currently being built on the campus, and Dube said workers on the site would be targeted by commandos.
What's more, Dube also told customs officers he had a stomach ache because of prolonged exposure to radioactive materials.
He was taken to hospital and interviewed by RCMP investigators, who found his story to be bogus and charged him on May 14.
The Mounties say Dube invented the story to avoid being tried in Alberta, where he's suspected of domestic assault. He faces deportation once his sentence is complete, but that might not put an end to his legal problems.
Authorities in Alberta and the U.S. are investigating Dube in a fraud case.
Source - Toronto Sun
