Ex-boyfriend charged over Elnaz Hajtamiri kidnapping in Ontario

• Mohamad Lilo, Elnaz Hajtamiri’s ex-boyfriend and former business partner, charged with her kidnapping.
• Arrested in Quebec and flown to Ontario, where he is due to appear in court on Wednesday. Allegedly kidnapped by men posing as police officers in January 2012.
• The public is being asked by police to come forward with any information that can assist them in their search for the missing woman.

A man has been detained and charged by Canadian police in connection with an abduction case that has stumped detectives for months and yielded few leads.

Six months after she was taken by individuals posing as police officers, Elnaz Hajtamiri’s ex-boyfriend and former business partner Mohamad Lilo was accused with her kidnapping.

On January 12, three men broke into a house in a seaside town in Ontario and, after overpowering the homeowner, kidnapped Hajtamiri, an Iranian woman. They carried her barefoot through the snow to a car before swerving into the night.

Her family released a statement following the police’s announcement of the charge, saying that the past six months have been gruelling and agonising as they’ve maintained their never-ending search for her.

“The kidnappers have been completely silent to us, and our lovely child has left no trail at all. We anticipate that the capture of this suspect will advance our search for her.

In connection with a prior assault on Hajtamiri, who was attacked in an underground garage and battered with a frying pan, police said Lilo was also charged with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping.

The assault resulted in significant head injuries that required 40 stitches. A tracking device was allegedly afterwards found at the location, according to police. When the woman took her car in for maintenance in November, two additional monitoring devices were discovered inside.

In connection with the incident at the garage, York region police detained Riyasat Singh in April and charged him with attempted kidnapping and attempted murder.

Officers also issued Harshdeep Binner, who is accused of the same offences, a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest. But he is still at large months later.

Lilo was arrested in Quebec and flown to Ontario, where he is due to appear in court on Wednesday. He would enter a not guilty plea, according to his attorney.

Other than Lilo’s claimed participation in both assaults, police claim they do not think the same men were responsible for the kidnapping on January 12.

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According to a representative for the Ontario Provincial Police, the case had been “extremely difficult” for the detectives.

We are certain that she must be present somewhere, and Bill Dickson added, “Our investigation team has been working nonstop to find out where she is, how she was transferred from Wasaga Beach to some other area, was she relocated after that – we just don’t know.”

The public is being asked by the police to come forward with any information that can assist them find the missing woman.

“We’re hoping we don’t uncover a body,” added Dickson. We continue to believe that we will locate Elnaz Hajtamiri alive and return her to her family.

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