Calgary police have arrested and charged a man with child abduction, more than two years after he accused of having illegally fled Canada with his five-year-old son.
Investigators allege the man did extensive planning before executing his plan, including purchasing property overseas, acquiring new passports and using forged documents.
On Dec. 3, 2023, police say, the man took his son without his mother’s permission and travelled from Calgary to Montreal, then on to Turkiye.
After arriving in Turkiye, he immediately cut off all communication with the boy’s mother.
Police say they spent the next two years attempting to locate the man in an attempt to reunite his son with his mother and siblings in Calgary.
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However, the search was made complicated because the man appears to have moved frequently with the boy, including visiting or residing in Turkiye, Russia, Azerbaijan and Vanuatu.
Investigators allege the man also tried to create a new identity for his son.
Working in cooperation with the RCMP, Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Central Authority and Interpol, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) issued an international arrest warrant for the man.
On Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, the suspect and boy were spotted by police at an airport in Mauritius, where they were detained while authorities there contacted Calgary police.
On Dec. 20, the boy’s mother arrived in Mauritius from Calgary and was reunited with her son for the first time in more than two years.
They returned to Calgary together the following day.
On Jan. 17, 2026, the accused, 62-year-old Muhammad Zia-Ur Rahman, was escorted by CPS officers back to Calgary where he was charged with one count of parental child abduction.
The accused has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance which is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.
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