Conspiracy of Cesspool Circumstances

"We are aware of the arrests. However, we are unable to confirm at this stage whether an arrest has been made in regards to our homicide investigation."

"This is an active investigation with a lot of sensitivities surrounding it."

Constable Caroline de Kloet, Toronto Police Service

Dayne Adrian Sitladeen, 29 (L) and Muzamil Aden Addow, 29 (R) are both wanted for high-profile crimes in Ontario Photo by Handout

Driving east on Interstate 94 in Minnesota a State Trooper was alerted to a pickup truck in the opposite direction speeding at a good clip. He turned around and pursued the truck, a Chevrolet Silverado sporting Texas license plates, a Hertz rental. An Ontario driver's license in the name of Zakaria Taajir was handed over to the trooper and the truck's passenger turned over an identification card from Florida. When the trooper questioned the two men separately, each told different background stories, contradicting the other.

 

The driver's story was that he was driving to Fargo for work with his uncle's construction company, he'd rented the truck at the airport in Minneapolis after a flight from Canada with the passenger. Trouble was when the trooper asked for the name of the construction company, the driver couldn't supply a name. The passenger  claimed to live in Minneapolis on his way to work for the same construction job, but he hadn't flown in with the driver from Canada.

 

The driver was asked for permission to carry out a search of the truck and the driver gave his permission with the proviso that the bags not be opened nor he body-searched. Opening the back door of the truck the trooper saw a few duffel bags and backpacks. Opening one of the bags he found a dozen guns and  high-capacity magazines, so he radioed for back-up, ordering the pair to place hands on their heads. When other officers arrived, investigators discovered the passenger's name was Sitladeen, wanted by U.S.Marshals Service at Canada's request.

 

The man wanted for murder and fentanyl distribution was arrested by the troopers. And the driver, whose name was thought to be Taajir, was also arrested for carrying a firearm without a permit. When the troopers spoke with Toronto police the driver was identified as Muzamil Aden Addow, wanted in Canada for crimes as well. 67 guns and a number of magazines in four bags were found in the truck, one loaded with live ammunition. 

 

They were both illegally in the States; Canadian citizens with no record of a legal border crossing, when under U.S. federal law, illegal aliens are not permitted possession of a firearm. 

Dayne Adrian Sitladeen is well known in Toronto as Yung Lava, a popular rapper. At the very time he was listed at the top of the Toronto police Most Wanted list, considered armed and dangerous, he had appeared in a 2019 documentary alongside hip hop star Drake and others. The purpose of the documentary was to dissuade young Black men from possessing firearms. After his arrest his name and photograph were removed from the documentary, one of three men wanted for first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 26-year-old Toronto man in May of 2019.

York Regional Police had Muzamil Aden Addow in their sights, wanted for a kidnapping. Wanzhen Lu, a 22-year-old student at a private Toronto university had been the victim of a kidnapping-ransom scheme. Three masked men grabbed Lu from the upmarket condo building garage in Markham. Lu was zapped with a stun gun and forced into a van, setting off a huge search in view of a ransom demand. Known for a lavish lifestyle, Lu owned a Lamberghini, Rolls Royce and Range Rover.

Wanzhen Lu was the victim of an armed kidnapping in the parking garage of his condo building in Markham, Ont., according to police. (York Regional Police)

 

The plot failed when Lu managed to escape his kidnappers, leaving Addow wanted for kidnapping, forcible confinement and assault with a weapon. Considered armed and dangerous he was also wanted by Toronto police on 15 gun charges. The two men were ordered to remain in custody pending a detention hearing and return to Canada to face trial.