Toronto man found adrift in Atlantic Ocean pleads guilty to stealing boat

A Toronto adult male who was arrested unaccompanied alongside a boat drifting in the atlantic sea Ocean last fall has pleaded guilty to charges of theft and possession of stolen property.

Mohammad Yazed Saleh, 31, admitted in provincial court in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., that he drove a stolen Ford F-150 pickup truck with Ontario plates to a yacht club in the village of D'Escousse on the coast of Cape Breton. He took a small fishing boat and headed out to sea.

Five days later, the stolen vessel was seen off the French islands of St-Pierre-Miquelon, near Newfoundland.

It took two more days before the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, an RCMP marine unit out of Quebec, the military and the coast guard found Saleh drifting east of Sable Island, 300 kilometres east of Nova Scotia.

Saleh has been in jail since Sept. 30, 2025, and remains behind bars.

On Friday, Crown and defence lawyers told Judge Laurie Halfpenny-MacQuarrie they would be jointly recommending a sentence of eight months, or time served, which would see Saleh released after appearing in court next month.

He had also been facing another charge of possession of stolen property involving the boat and a number of charges for breaching release conditions for weapons offences in Alberta and British Columbia.

Crown attorney Keavin Gallant Finnerty said those charges have all been dropped as part of the plea deal.

Gallant Finnerty said theft and possession of stolen property are "very serious" charges and that eight months in jail is within the normal range for sentencing.

Saleh could have elected trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court but waived that in favour of the deal, which he called "reasonable."

The judge ordered a pre-sentence report and ordered Saleh back to provincial court March 9 in Port Hawkesbury.

During an October court appearance, Saleh told the judge he did not want to return to Alberta or B.C. Because he “took a half-a-million-dollar loss out there. I had a big business and I left in fear of my life.”

It's still not clear why Saleh ended up at the Lennox Passage Yacht Club in a truck reported stolen in Alberta, why he took the boat or where he was headed. But an agreed statement of facts is expected at sentencing and Saleh will be given an opportunity to address the court.

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Reporter/Editor

Tom Ayers has been a reporter and editor for 40 years. He has spent the last 22 covering Cape Breton and Nova Scotia stories. You can reach him at tom.ayers@cbc.ca.

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