Calgary police have arrested and charged a person with child abduction, greater than two years after he’s accused of getting illegally fled Canada along with his five-year-old son.
Investigators allege the person did extensive planning before following through on his plan, including purchasing property overseas, acquiring multiple passports and using forged documents.
On Dec. 3, 2023, police say, the person 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 subsequent two years attempting to locate the person in an try to reunite his son along with his mother and siblings in Calgary.
Sgt. Scott Mizibrocky of the CPS Domestic Violence Team describes the investigation as very complex since the man appears to have moved continuously with the boy, including visiting or residing in Turkiye, Russia, Azerbaijan and Vanuatu.
Police say he also tried to create a brand new identity for his son.
Get each day National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
“We imagine he did this solo, on his own. He had the resources to travel abroad and procure quite a few passports,” said Mizibrocky. “Obviously it’s going to be a part of our investigation as we proceed on, if he received assistance in Canada or overseas.”
Sgt. Scott Mizibrocky of the Calgary Police Domestic Violence Team, speaks to media at CPS headquarters on Tuesday.
Global News
Working in cooperation with the RCMP, Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Central Authority and Interpol, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) issued a global arrest warrant for the person.
On Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, the suspect and boy were spotted and detained by police at an airport in Mauritius.
“It was absolutely amazing, the support we received from Mauritius,” said Mizibrocky. “The Mauritius authorities, when the kid and father entered through the international airport and were going through customs, we had the son flagged through Interpol. Interpol was called, and so they notified the Mauritius authorities that the daddy was also wanted in Canada. Mauritius authorities agreed to carry the daddy until Calgary police could attend and take custody of him,” Mizibrocky added.
On Dec. 20, the boy’s mother arrived in Mauritius from Calgary and was reunited together with her son for the primary time in greater than two years.
They returned to Calgary together the next day.
On Jan. 17, 2026, the accused, who police discover as 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.
Police say Rahman was born in Pakistan but is a Canadian citizen who has practiced medicine on this country.
He has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.