In the report, the government said officials had prevented successful immigration and refugee claims in Canada by another 73 people by documenting participation in war crimes; and enforced 48 removal orders against people deemed complicit in contemporary wartime atrocities.

It is in the numbers of those claimed to have been removed, however, that the statistics are found wanting.

Aurelio Amaya-Zelaya is also one of the five removed from Canada because of war crimes, according to the government.

Now 39, Mr. Amaya-Zelaya was born in Olomega-la-Union, El Salvador, and came to Canada on June 4, 1989.

He was granted refugee status on Nov. 22, 1989, and two days later was arrested by Vancouver police and charged with attempted murder, possession of a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault.  In 1994, he was convicted of trafficking cocaine and a year later for possession of a narcotic.  Over the next few years, he faced more convictions for violence, drugs and other crimes.

By the summer of 2002, the government appears to have run out of patience.  "The Minister of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration is of the opinion that you constitute a danger to the public in Canada," an immigration officer said in a letter hand-delivered to him at his home in Surrey, B.C.

He was facing yet another round of charges, including assault and threatening, when immigration officials and the RCMP visited his apartment in June looking to arrest him but could not find him, government documents say.

It was not until July 24, 2002, that he was arrested and 10 days later he was flown out of Canada.  However, his deportation order, obtained by the Post, cites as the sole reason for his removal his assault convictions in Canada.

There is no mention of foreign crimes anywhere in his lengthy government files that were made public, although an early immigration document shows Mr. Amaya-Zelaya�s reason for seeking refugee status is his claim he was kidnapped by guerrillas and forced to work with them before escaping.  He said he was in danger from the military in his homeland because of his forced involvement with the rebels.

Also one of the five is Jorge Anibal Azalgado, according to the government.

Mr. Azalgado, along with his wife, Erica Moyanao Castro, and three children arrived in Canada from Argentina on Oct. 11, 2000.  Nine days later they all made claims to stay as refugees.

It took a year for their applications to be heard.  At the private hearings came dark allegations by both sides.  From the Azalgados, there was talk of a kidnap plot against the children and Ms. Castro being the victim of rape.

From the government came allegations against Mr. Azalgado from his time in the Argentinian army, the details of which the government will not release.

On Aug. 2, 2002, the family�s claims for refugee status were turned down.  Mr. Azalgado was refused under Article 1(f)(a) of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, according to immigration documents.  It is an ominous mark against him; that section strips refugee status from anyone who has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity.  The rest of his family was refused entry because they did not meet the definition of a refugee.

When the government went looking for the Azalgados, however, they could not he found.

For nearly a year the family remained secretly in Canada, avoiding a warrant issued for their removal.

Then, on March 20, 2003, Ms. Castro�s car was stopped by Toronto police investigating a traffic violation.  She handed the officer an identification card that was not hers.  The deceit was quickly uncovered and when her true identity was learned the entire family was arrested that day.  It appears that Mr. Azalgado was removed from Canada because of concerns over his complicity in war crimes.  However, his date of departure was not until May 27, 2003, the Post has learned.  That is nearly two months after the close of the reporting period of the audit.