Nova ScotiaPolice allege Mohammad Saleh of Toronto stole a truck in Alberta this summer and fled to D’Escousse, N.S. RCMP say he was picked up a week later adrift on the Atlantic Ocean near Sable Island.Mohammad Saleh, 31, alluded to sizable business losses in Oct. 9 court appearance in Port HawkesburyTom Ayers · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2025 4:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesA Toronto man is due back in Nova Scotia provincial court next month after allegedly stealing a truck in Alberta, driving it to the Lennox Passage Yacht Club in D’Escousse, N.S., and taking a boat out to sea. (Tom Ayers/CBC)The mystery could soon be solved surrounding a Toronto man allegedly involved in a cross-Canada flight from police that ended with his arrest on board a boat drifting in the Atlantic Ocean.That is if the facts come out in provincial court in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., next month.Police and court officials say Mohammad Yazed Saleh, 31, of Toronto was facing outstanding arrest warrants from 2023 for weapons offences in British Columbia and Alberta when he allegedly stole a truck this summer and headed for Nova Scotia.Not much is known about why he ended up allegedly taking a boat from the Lennox Passage Yacht Club marina in the tiny Cape Breton community of D’Escousse last month, but Saleh did suggest a motivation during an Oct. 9 appearance in Port Hawkesbury provincial court.At the time, Judge Laurel Halfpenny-MacQuarrie asked Crown attorneys whether the other provinces were looking to execute their outstanding warrants.Saleh interrupted, saying he did not want to return to Alberta or B.C.The tiny Cape Breton community of D’Escousse, N.S., is located on the northeastern side of Isle Madame. (Tom Ayers/CBC)Before being cut off by his legal aid lawyer, Saleh told the judge he “took a half-a-million-dollar loss out there. I had a big business and I left in fear of my life.”Saleh was advised to not speak any more and it was never made clear exactly why he had fled or how he ended up in D’Escousse, which is not on a major highway.Crown attorney Jeffrey Columbus later told the CBC that Alberta and B.C. were not immediately looking to execute their warrants.Saleh faces seven charges in Nova Scotia including possession of a stolen truck, stealing a boat from the marina in D’Escousse, possession of a stolen boat and multiple weapons offences for carrying knives.RCMP say Saleh was seen on surveillance video taking a boat similar to this one seen hauled out of the water recently at the Lennox Passage Yacht Club marina. (Tom Ayers/CBC)RCMP say surveillance video at the marina shows Saleh parking the truck at the marina and taking off in the boat.A week later, at the end of September, he was picked up near Sable Island in a joint operation by police, fisheries officers, the coast guard and the military.Saleh, heavy set and bald with a big black beard and moustache, has been in custody ever since.A bail hearing was scheduled Thursday but did not proceed because the Crown and defence were discussing a possible resolution.Crown prosecutors are not commenting on the details of the case, but say they are opposed to Saleh’s release.RCMP say surveillance video at the Lennox Passage Yacht Club in D’Escousse, N.S., shows Saleh parking a truck at the marina and taking off in a boat. (Tom Ayers/CBC)Saleh’s lawyer is also not commenting, but told the court Thursday his client is willing to remain in jail while discussions continue.The two sides agreed to return to court Nov. 20 to report on progress.MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORTom Ayers has been a reporter and editor for 39 years. He has spent the last 21 covering Cape Breton and Nova Scotia stories. You can reach him at tom.ayers@cbc.ca.
Man accused of cross-Canada flight from police says he was ‘in fear of my life’
