A 21-year-old man has been charged after police found explosive devices in a Niagara Falls home.
Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) said officers were sent to a home in the City of Niagara Falls around 12:24 p.m. on Sept. 5. Police were responding to concerns about suspicious devices in the home, according to an NRPS release.
Police searched the house on Beaver Glen Drive near Brookside Drive, where “multiple devices of a concerning nature” were discovered, the release said.
As a precaution, police evacuated homes in the area and called the explosive disposal unit (EDU) to the scene. Officers with the unit examined the devices and took them to a safe location for further assessment, NRPS said.
“The devices were determined to be improvised explosive devices in varying stages of completeness,” police said. “The devices were rendered safe by EDU officers.”
Residents were permitted to return home around 3 p.m., according to the release.
After a search warrant was executed on the home, a male suspect, Taha Sleiman was arrested, police said.
Sleiman is now facing charges of making and possessing an explosive device, and unlawful possession of explosives.
He is being held in police custody. A bail hearing is scheduled for Sept. 6 in the City of St. Catharines at the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse.
The incident is still under investigation, NRPS said.
“The motivation and intention remains under investigation by 2 District detectives,” an NRPS spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. “We are encouraging anyone with information to contact police as this is an active investigation.”
NRPS said they could not confirm the citizenship of Sleiman, but did say he was a resident of Niagara Falls.
Police have not disclosed what prompted them to search the home, telling The Epoch Times in an email that they had received information that prompted an investigation and a search of the home.
