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School bomb threat suspect arrested in Morocco charged by OPP

Multiple schools in Ontario were impacted by the threats in November
2023-11-01-cscdgr1mh
The Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes Rivières board office in Timmins.

A person accused in a series of bomb threats that shut down schools across Ontario is facing charges in Canada. 

The individual was arrested by Belgian police in Morocco last month and OPP has now laid charges against the 45-year-old. 

On Nov. 1, a series of bomb threats were made against multiple schools and other public facilities. OPP says that the threatening messages indicated that bombs had been placed at the locations and the suspect demanded money in exchange for details about the alleged explosives. No explosives were found. 

On the same day in Collingwood, police issued hold-and-secure orders for Collingwood Collegiate Institute, Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School, St. Mary's Catholic School, Elementary School Catholic Notre-Dame-De-La-Huronie, and Admiral Elementary school. However, Collingwood OPP have confirmed the Nov. 1 incident in Collingwood was not related to the series of bomb threats made in other Ontario towns. The Collingwood incident was off school property and was not a bomb threat. 

On Nov. 30, Belgian police arrested a suspect in Morocco in connection with a series of bomb threats against schools in Belgium. 

The individual is now also facing charges in Canada. 

El Hachm El Moussi, a 45-year-old from Casablanca, Morocco, is charged with two counts of uttering threats, two counts of mischief, and two counts of extortion. 

The OPP's criminal investigation branch worked with the cybercrime investigations team and Belgian police to investigate the incident and obtain an arrest warrant.

Police are working with the federal department of justice to determine how the accused will appear in an Ontario court.

None of the charges have been proven in court and the accused is considered innocent unless proven guilty.