VANCOUVER - A Vancouver-area man became the first person in Canada on Tuesday to be sentenced for uttering terrorism-related hoaxes, says an RCMP spokesman.

Lorne Lapolean received a 19-month prison sentence in provincial court after being convicted in absentia before his arrest in Toronto and return to Vancouver for sentencing.

"He absconded during the course of the trial and was convicted in absentia," said Supt. Lloyd Plante, of B.C.'s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team. "Once we arrested him, he was brought back and sentenced."

Plante said people who intentionally call in a false terrorism threat aren't involved in a harmless prank.

"Their actions cause very real fear in people that requires a swift police response."

Lapolean was originally arrested in February 2006 for e-mailing false information about possible terrorist targets.

He became the subject of a Canada-wide arrest warrant for failing to appear in court and was later arrested in Toronto after spending three months at large.

The Integrated National Security Teams (INSET) were created following the events of September 11, 2001. The teams are designed to increase the capacity for the collection, sharing and analysis of intelligence among partners.

When Lapolean was convicted last October, he became the first person in Canada to be convicted under laws banning terrorism hoaxes.

He faced a maximum of five years in prison.

He was found guilty last fall of two offences, including initiating a hoax regarding terrorist activity and public mischief. The judge found him not guilty of a third charge of uttering a threat.

Court records indicate that on Feb. 16, 2006, Lapolean sent an e-mail fax warning of a possible terror attack against Canada's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team in Ottawa.

Lapolean said he was a Muslim and had information on a terrorist cell called the Islamic Terror Cell in Vancouver.

Lapolean listed three names and addresses of cell members and claimed they were planning to bomb the Royal Danish Consulate in North Vancouver and the American Consulate in downtown Vancouver.

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