Canada - Canadian Press
Alleged Mossad agent may be travelling on pilfered Canadian passport
Date: Tue Aug 3
JIM BRONSKILL
OTTAWA (CP) - Federal officials are investigating whether a suspected Israeli spy is travelling in Asia on a stolen Canadian passport.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Reynald Doiron said agencies are checking allegations that Zev William Barkan - embroiled in a New Zealand espionage caper - is using a Canadian passport issued under the name Kevin William Hunter. Diplomatic inquiries, intelligence liaison and police investigation might soon provide answers, Doiron said Tuesday. "All of that being put together, we should have a clearer picture."
It is the latest twist in a spy scandal that has rocked New Zealand.
The 37-year-old Barkan, a suspected member of the Israeli Mossad, is wanted by police for allegedly trying to help illegally obtain a New Zealand passport.
Two Israelis, Uriel Kelman, 30, and Eli Cara, 50, each received six-month prison sentences earlier this month for their part in the scheme. Both are appealing their convictions.
As part of the plot, Barkan allegedly assumed the identity of a wheelchair-bound man with cerebral palsy in an effort to secure the passport.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has said there was "no doubt whatsoever" in her mind Kelman and Cara were Israeli agents. The men have denied the charge.
Clark demanded an apology from Israel for the affair, which has seriously strained relations between the countries.
Barkan is believed to have fled New Zealand after Kelman and Cara were arrested. The involvement of a fourth man, who has not been formally identified, is also suspected.
Canadian officials are looking into a report Barkan was recently seen in Pyongyang, North Korea (news - web sites), where he had flown from Beijing using Hunter's passport, said to have been reported stolen in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in mid-April.
"That part of the story's being checked," said Doiron.
Canada is taking the allegation seriously given that two Mossad hitmen were caught seven years ago in Jordan with phoney Canadian passports following a bungled attempt to kill a Hamas leader.
Canada subsequently sought and received assurances from Israel that its passport would not be abused.
Media reports describe Barkan as a friendly and talkative Caucasian man with thick black hair and an American accent. He allegedly once served as a diplomat at two Israeli embassies in Europe.
Reports say that while in New Zealand, Barkan went by the name Jay and claimed to be taking a sailing course. He told people he was from Washington, where he ran a window and door company.
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