An Australian living in B.C. is facing several charges, including willful promotion of hatred, following an overseas police investigation.
According to the RCMP’s National Division, Kibwe Ngoie-Ntombe, who is residing in Kelowna, is facing six charges.
Police say the charges stem from an investigation by the Sensitive and International Investigations section, and involve threats against people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Project Arrow was launched in June 2020, after a complaint was received through the Department of Justice Canada, under Canada’s War Crimes Program,” RCMP said on Thursday.
“The complaint related to videos circulating online in which a man was alleged to have uttered threats towards people living in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Police say with help from the RCMP’s Open Source Criminal Intelligence Unit and Divisional Criminal Analysis Unit, a suspect was identified, and that a man was arrested in Kelowna on June 12.
“A search warrant was executed at a residence in Kelowna, and various electronic devices were seized,” said RCMP.
Police say Ngoie-Ntombe was first charged with uttering threats and was released on several conditions, but that additional offences were added in February. The charges were:
- Uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm
- Uttering threats to burn, destroy or damage property
- Uttering a forged document
- Counselling the commission of an indictable offence (aggravated assault)
- Counselling the commission of an indictable offence (arson)
And then this week, police say Ngoie-Ntombe was also charged with willful promotion of hatred.
“The quick action by members of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Section of the Department of Justice in detecting and flagging this activity allowed the RCMP to respond swiftly to disrupt these alleged crimes,” said RCMP Insp. François Courtemanche.
“The outcome of this investigation was made possible through the diligent work and collaboration of many RCMP employees from National and E Divisions, as well as RCMP Liaison Officers in the United States, South Africa and Kenya.
“The Department of Justice, Canada Border Services Agency, FINTRAC, the FBI and the Australian Federal Police were also invaluable partners in this investigation.”
The RCMP say using Canada as a launch point to distribute messages of hate and promoting violence against marginalized ethnic groups anywhere is not acceptable, and that they remain committed to detecting, disrupting and deterring these types of offences.