CBC and CityNews have interviewed Mohamed Farah, the man who says he was broker for the infamous Rob Ford crack video.
In the interview with CBC, Farah says he received threats from people claiming to be ex-military and former police officers. Organized crime members were also interested in buying the video, he said.
“There were some people in the neighbourhood, I would say people that are in organized crime, that drove in and showed people a suitcase of money and said ‘Hey look, whoever has the video put them in contact with us and this is their cash, this is their money.”
CBC’s Fifth Estate will air the full interview at 9 p.m. ET Friday. CityNews aired the full interview during their dinner hour news.
Farah, who works with youth in the Rexdale community, is said to have approached several media outlets about the video and met with The Toronto Star and Gawker to facilitate a meeting with the holder of the video in order to discuss payment.
The broker met with Toronto Star reporters and told them he was meeting them on someone else’s behalf, a young drug dealer. Robyn Doolittle, one of those Star reporters, tweeted on Friday that she would not confirm his identity as she promised confidentiality.
Farah said the video seller never told him how he got the recording and Farah never asked.
“He’s the type of person who keeps you on a need to know basis,” Farah told CityNews.
The video was reportedly being shopped for $200,000. After going public with its existence, Gawker launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and raised the money but later learned from the broker that the man with the video, now known to be Mohammed Siad, had disappeared.
Ford had denied its existence for months. Last week, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair confirmed its existence and said the video police have in their possession is consistent with what has been reported in the media.