Mexico says that a Canadian woman was part of a foiled plot to smuggle one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons and his family out of Libya.
Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire said Wednesday that the plot involved two Mexicans and a Danish suspect, as well as Cynthia Vanier -- a Canadian who is alleged to have led the efforts to bring al-Saadi Gadhafi to Mexico.
The plot was uncovered in September when al-Saadi Gadhafi fled Libyan soil. He made it into Niger, where he has been living for the past few months.
According to Poire, a plot was then in motion to bring al-Saadi Gadhafi to Mexico, under false names and using false documents.
The interior secretary said the people involved in the plot had opened bank accounts and bought properties where Gadhafi could stay, including one in the resort of Bahia de las Banderas on Mexico's Pacific Coast.
"The large economic resources which this criminal organization has, or had, allowed them to contract private flights," Poire told a news conference.
Poire said Vanier "was the direct contact with the Gadhafi family and the leader of the group, and presumably was the person in charge of the finances of the operation."
A report said in Wednesday's National Post newspaper said that Vanier is part of a consulting business in Mount Forest, Ont.
The website for Vanier Consulting says that Vanier provides dispute resolution services, but also has training in "kidnap, ransom negotiations and asset recovery facilitation."
A woman who answered the phone on Wednesday morning at Vanier Consulting did not comment to CTVNews.ca on the reports about Cynthia Vanier.
Poire said that a Mexican woman who lives in the United States was also part of the plot, as was a Danish man who served as "the logistic liaison" for the plan.
Mexican officials gave no indication Wednesday that the late Moammar Gadhafi had been involved with the plan to bring al-Saadi and his family overseas.
The same report in the National Post said that Vanier had travelled to Libya in July as part of what she described as a fact-finding mission.
Upon her return to Canada, she wrote a report and sent a copy to CANADEM -- a non-profit that helps put the UN, Ottawa and other governments in touch with Canadian experts.
The organization's executive director, Paul Larose-Edwards, confirmed to CTVNews.ca Wednesday that Vanier sent an unsolicited copy of the report to CANADEM and they had passed it onto Foreign Affairs at her request.
He would not comment on the contents of Vanier's report, other than to say it "doesn't bear repeating."
When Foreign Affairs was asked for comment on Wednesday, a spokesperson sent an email to CTVNews.ca indicating that the department "is aware of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in Mexico City" and is closely monitoring the situation.
With files from The Associated Press
