Canada border officer says giving police Meng Wanzhou’s device passwords was ‘embarrassing, heart-wrenching’ blunder
- Scott Kirkland, testifying in extradition case, denies deliberately violating Huawei executive’s rights or acting for police or FBI by handing over passwords
- But Meng’s lawyers say it was part of a covert plot to gather evidence for the American FBI
A Canadian border officer who dealt with Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver’s airport in the hours before her arrest said he made an “embarrassing” and “heart-wrenching” mistake, when his handwritten note with the passwords of Meng’s electronic devices ended up in police hands, breaching privacy laws.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer Scott Kirkland denied that he deliberately obtained the passwords on behalf of police, depicting the handover instead as a blunder he only realised he had made a few days later.
But Meng’s lawyers say it was part of a covert plot by the CBSA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), to gather evidence for the American FBI.
Kirkland came under intense cross-examination on Friday from the Huawei executive’s lawyer Mona Duckett, as she attempted to prove Meng’s rights were violated in the border process.
They want Meng’s extradition case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia thrown out as a result. The US wants Meng sent to New York to face trial on fraud charges, which are denied by Meng, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies.