A mother in Calgary has been joyfully reunited with her son following the arrest of the boy’s father in Mauritius, over two years after the alleged abduction when the child was five years old. The Calgary police have charged 62-year-old Muhammad Zia-Ur Rahman with parental child abduction, confirming his past employment as a doctor in Alberta. Rahman was apprehended in December, and a Calgary Police Service sergeant traveled to Mauritius to bring him back to Calgary.
The child returned to Calgary in mid-December and is now seven years old. According to Sgt. Scott Mizibrocky, the child is back in school and is doing well, happily playing with siblings and engaging in typical seven-year-old activities.
Authorities claim that the abduction was meticulously planned, with Rahman traveling from Calgary to Montreal and then to Turkey on December 3, 2023, where he severed all contact with the child’s mother. Rahman acquired property overseas, obtained new passports, used forged documents, and relocated multiple times over the following two years across countries like Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Vanuatu. The collaborative efforts of various agencies, including Interpol, RCMP, Global Affairs Canada, and Calgary police, led to Rahman’s arrest based on Interpol alerts.
Rahman and his son were spotted at the Mauritius airport on December 16, 2025, leading to his detainment by local authorities and subsequent notification to Calgary Police Service. After the arrest, the boy’s mother traveled to Mauritius and reunited with her son, whom she had not seen for over two years. They returned to Calgary shortly after.
Calgary police expressed gratitude for the support received from Mauritius in facilitating the reunion of the mother and son. Rahman is currently in custody and is scheduled to appear in court. The investigation remains ongoing, with the possibility of additional charges. Despite previous criminal charges, Rahman has no prior convictions, as the domestic assault-related charges from August 2023 were withdrawn in October of the same year.