2013 Via Rail Canada terrorism plot  The 2013 Via Rail Canada terrorism plot was a conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in and against Canada in the form of disruption, destruction or derailment of trains operated by Canada's national passenger railway service, Via Rail Canada. The alleged targeted train route was the "Maple Leaf", the daily train service between Toronto and New York City operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak. The two suspects, Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, were arrested on 22 April 2013 by the RCMP and subsequently charged by the Crown in connection with the plot. Neither one is a Canadian citizen. On Friday, 20 March 2015, guilty verdicts were entered in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, against both defendants, on all but one of the charges. The jury were discharged from determining the extent of guilt on the remaining charge. On Wednesday, 23 September 2015, both Esseghaier and Jaser were sentenced to imprisonment for life for their crimes. The arrests were the culmination of an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The RCMP received cooperation and assistance from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Canada Border Services Agency. Provincial police forces involved were the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec. Municipal police forces involved were the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, the Toronto Police Service, York Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, and the Durham Regional Police. Private security forces involved were corporate physical security teams from Via Rail Canada and CN Rail. In its interdiction, dubbed "Operation SMOOTH" by the RCMP, Canada received cooperation and assistance from the United States Department of Homeland Security, including the United States Transportation Security Administration, and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. A law firm that has been at the forefront in challenging Canadian anti-terror legislation, KSM Law, appears to have been instrumental in having one of their clients tip off authorities. Lawyers Naseer Irfan Syed and Faisal Kutty are co-founders of this law firm. In an op-ed published in the Toronto Star, Faisal Kutty cited this as evidence that the Muslim community, while critical of rights abuses, is concerned about Canada's security as well. Chiheb Esseghaier, a Tunisian citizen, was arrested by RCMP in Montreal, and Raed Jaser, who is stateless of Palestinian descent, was arrested in Toronto. The Crown filed special terrorism-related charges against both, with the consent on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada, as required by section 83.24 of the Criminal Code.