Mexico foiled Al Saadi bid to take new identity
Four held for plot to arrange coastal hideout
Mexico City: The playboy son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was plotting to sneak into Mexico under a false name and live in a posh Pacific coast resort frequented by celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian, authorities said on Wednesday. Al Saadi Gaddafi didn't have his way though thanks to timely action by Mexican authorities.
A former professional soccer player and Hollywood movie investor, whose sacked beachfront Tripoli mansion held a Lamborghini, Al Saadi, 38, was also a commander of his father's special forces units and a leader in the fight against rebel forces in Libya. He fled into northern Niger with family members in September and sought asylum there.
Niger stand
Niger authorities have said they are holding Al Saadi, who is wanted by Interpol, but they have refused to extradite him.
Mexican officials said on Wednesday that the country's intelligence agents uncovered the plot to bring Al Saadi and his family to Mexico in September, as the rebel uprising was making its final push in Libya.
Four suspects, including a Canadian woman identified as the mastermind, are under house arrest in Mexico. The others were identified as a Danish man, a Mexican man and a Mexican woman who resides in the US.
"The activities of the criminal organisation in our country included the falsification of official documents, the opening of bank accounts with false documents and the purchase of real estate that was intended to serve as a residence for the Gaddafi family," interior minister Alejandro Poire said at a Wednesday morning news conference.
Details of the alleged plot were first reported by the National Post in Canada.
One of the properties included a mansion in the Punta Mita resort area just north of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast. Poire said the planners jetted around Mexico and visited Middle East countries in support of their plot.
"Poire said the leader of the plot was a Canadian woman he identified as Cynthia Vanier.
Poire said Vanier "was the direct contact with the Gaddafi family and the leader of the group, and presumably was the person in charge of the finances of the operation".
