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Toronto Star IDs man they claim tried to sell alleged Rob Ford crack video

The Toronto Star has identified one of the individuals reported to have tried to sell the news outlet a video of Toronto mayor Rob Ford allegedly smoking crack.

The Star reported today that Mohamed Siad, 27, was one of those who tried to sell them the alleged video. Siad was one of more than 30 people arrested in mid-June as part of the Project Traveller raids. He faces a number of charges, some of them related to drugs and trafficking. It’s not known if the alleged video was recovered at the time of the arrest, according to the Star.

Siad is described as an alleged member of the Dixon City Bloods gang, and was reportedly the victim of a stabbing in the Don Jail soon after his arrest. The Toronto Sun reports that this stabbing was directly related to the alleged video, as some gang members blamed the publicity surrounding the video for the Project Traveller raids.

The Sun also quotes and anonymous source, saying that Siad was trying to use the alleged video as part of a plea bargain.

Star report describes their reporters’ first meeting with Siad in early May, saying the 27-year-old was initially reluctant to let reporters hear the video with the audio on, but eventually let them view and listen to it three times. The report doesn’t identify a man alleged to have attempted to broker the sale of the video for Siad, citing a promise to keep his identity private.

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