The leader of an alleged homegrown terror cell said to be plotting co-ordinated attacks on military and civilian targets throughout southwestern Ontario was so detached from reality that many of his plans were absurd, even laughable, the government's star witness testified today at the trial of a 20-year old man accused of being a member of the group.

"He was a few fries short of a Happy Meal," said Mubin Shaikh, of the alleged mastermind, who cannot be named by court order.

"Would you say 'nuts?'" asked defence lawyer Mitchell Chernofsky.

"Yeah, I would agree with that. He was nuts," Shaikh responded.

Shaikh, a devout Muslim who infiltrated the group working as a mole for the RCMP in the fall and winter of 2005, recounted a particularly bizarre plan to purchase a large property north of Timmins. The crown says the site was planned as a base and staging ground for attacks on targets that included the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Front Street offices of CSIS, the CBC and the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

Shaikh said the alleged ringleader talked about waging a prolonged guerrilla war from the northern Ontario base and attempting to convert nearby First Nations communities to Islam and then encouraging them to take up arms against the Quebecois. If they were successful, the terror group would give them Montreal and Quebec City as rewards.

The last twist drew chortling and stifled laughs from many in the courtroom.

"I chuckle along with everyone else," Shaikh said, suppressing a smile himself.

"You and I know that (the alleged leader) was living in a fantasy world, but he didn't know it was fantasy."

Chernofsky went on to ask Shaikh why he is not in the witness protection program.

"I'm going to suggest to you that you're not because you're not afraid of these guys," Chernofsky said.

"I think they probably blame me for what happened to them and if they had the chance they'd probably do something... But I'm really not afraid of the Taliban or al Qaeda coming to get me... At least not yet," Shaikh said.

The information Shaikh provided to the RCMP culminated in the arrests of 18 men and boys in a massive police sweep in June 2006.

Since then charges have been stayed against four adults and three youths. The trial of the 20-year-old, who cannot be identified because he was a minor at the time of the alleged offences, is seen as a critical test case before the trial of the 11 adults.

Defence lawyers have portrayed the group as a gang of na�ve incompetents led by a delusional megalomaniac who also happened to be penniless. The trial has heard that the group had one gun -- a 9 mm semi-automatic -- between them. While they planned to use truck bombs to demolish their targets, they didn't not have the necessary funds to rent, let alone buy, even one vehicle.

Shaikh's testimony today appeared to bolster the defence theory. Still, the charismatic and well-spoken Shaikh wondered aloud at one point "do I laugh or do I shiver."

"What if (the alleged leader) had reached even half of his goal? I'm glad someone was keeping an eye on him."