September 23, 2022
The whereabouts of Elnaz Hajtamiri and the motive for her kidnapping remain an enigma wrapped in a riddle almost eight months after she was last seen being dragged barefoot across the snow from a house in Ontario.
But last month, the Toronto Sun reported that her January 12 kidnaping might be linked to what she knew about a massive stolen vehicle ring.
“It’s not a domestic [lovers’ quarrel] incident; that’s not what it’s about,” one source told the daily. “It’s about stolen trucks being shipped to Africa and the Middle East by a criminal gang.”
The 37-year-old Iranian immigrant had been hiding out in the summer resort town of Wasaga Beach just weeks after being attacked with a frying pan in the parking garage of her Richmond Hill apartment house.
Then, in the dead of night, she was kidnapped by three black men wearing police gear. There was no ransom demand and not a peep has been heard since that wintery night.
Two of the men accused of attempted kidnaping and attempted murder for the December frying pan attack — Harshdeep Binner, 23, and Riyasad Singh, 22 — are alleged to be up to their eyeballs in a stolen truck ring based in Alberta in western Canada.
Police say the Indian pair were two of three Ontario men charged with stealing about 20 Ford F-150 trucks in the Edmonton area. They allegedly targeted models from 2017 to 2020 with push-button ignitions. The vehicles start at around $48,000 retail.
Singh is cooling his heels behind bars while Binner remains on the lam.
It’s believed the trucks were stolen for resale in overseas markets.
Det.-Insp. Martin Graham of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) told the Toronto Sun August 3 that the attempted kidnaping in Richmond Hill was connected to the Wasaga abduction.
Graham would not confirm whether police believed Hajtamiri’s disappearance had any connection to the stolen luxury truck ring in Alberta.
“We’re aware of a number of different reasons and scenarios, but the reality is that right now we don’t know what the motive was for the abduction,” he said.
Detectives are still trying to determine who Elnaz’s kidnappers are, he said, adding that he didn’t foresee any further arrests in “the imminent future.”
“We’ve been working continuously on identifying these individuals,” Graham said.
Also in the frame is Hajtamiri’s former boyfriend, 35-year-old Mohamad Lilo, of Brossard, Quebec. On the six-month anniversary of the abduction, he was charged with kidnaping in connection with the abduction as well as attempted kidnapping and attempted murder in connection with the frying pan attack. In addition, nine days after the kidnapping, Lilo was arrested and charged with criminal harassment against Hajtamiri.
Lilo’s lawyer has said his client plans to plead not guilty. He does not face any charges related to the stolen truck ring as of now.
The investigation into Elnaz Hajtamiri’s disappearance remains a missing person/kidnaping probe, Graham said, adding, “It has to be a missing person undertaking” instead of a homicide because there is no body.
As for Hajtamiri’s ultimate fate and whereabouts, Graham told the Sun detectives have had depressingly little to go on.
“It’s like she has disappeared off the face of the earth; you do not see this these days. It’s deeply disturbing to me as a police officer,” Graham said. “Her family deserves answers.”
Police urge anyone with information to call a dedicated tip line at 1-833-728-3415. Members of the public are strongly urged to help share previously-released social media information and photos of Hajtamiri, using the hashtag #BringElnazHome.
