Shoplifter fears he will be deported

A refugee who was part of an organized shoplifting ring that targeted Niagara said he fears being deported as his family has disowned him.

Nikhil Walia was arrested in August after four men orchestrated an elaborate series of thefts at a Walmart store in St. Catharines.

When he was arrested, the Brampton man had no cash on him but was in possession of more than $1,400 in stolen merchandise.

The items were stolen in order to be sold on the black market.

In Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Thursday, Walia was granted a conditional discharge after he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft under $5,000.

The man’s journey through Canada’s criminal justice system didn’t end in Niagara as he is also wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for outstanding charges in Peel region.

Also, a deportation hearing will be held and he will likely be ordered to return to his native India.

Defence lawyer Alison McArthur said his client fears returning home as his family has essentially disowned him.

“His family put all their hopes in him,” she told the judge. “They put all of their money together and their dream was to send him to Canada where he would go to college.”

After he graduated from college, the family’s plan was for Walia to open a computer business in Canada and then bring his family over from India.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Walia completed his program but the results were not what they (the family) expected them to be,” his lawyer said.

His work permit was denied, and his “focus got distracted by the crowd he was hanging out with at the time” and he ultimately found himself behind bars.

While conceding it is a “tragic tale,” Judge Andrew Brown said the defendant is the author of his own misfortune.

“So many people have made Canada their home and have worked hard and contributed and made their families proud and found a great measure of success,” he said.

“You had an opportunity and you let it slip through your hands.”