Two truckers pleaded guilty to charges related to a ploy aimed at bringing cocaine cargoes into Ontario on behalf of the Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding, CBC News learned.
Iqbal Singh Virk and Ranjit Singh Rowal, of the Grand Toronto, are the first Canadians to negotiate a plea with American prosecutors since the start of the FBI investigation nicknamed Operation Giant Slalom, in reference to the previous career of Snowworm of Mr. Wedding, the alleged chief of an important drug trafficking network.
As part of its survey, the FBI sought to dismantle the network, which uses commercial trucks to move fentanyl and cocaine across North America. According to the authorities, Mr. Wedding’s organization is also linked to at least four murders in Ontario.
The drug was hidden in a secret compartment of the truck.
Photo : U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Ryan Wedding, who participated in the Olympic Games in 2002, is on the list of the 10 most sought after in the United States. The FBI offers $ 10 million for any information leading to its arrest. In March, American authorities announced that Mr. Wedding was still alive and active in cocaine traffic.
According to documents deposited at the American district court in Los Angeles, Gentlemen Virk and Rowal have each pleaded guilty to various accusations, including one of a plot to distribute cocaine. They are thus exposed to a life sentence.
Hidden products
They were arrested in August 2024 while they were trying to cross the Blue Water bridge, from Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario, with 95 kg of cocaine and 20 kg of heroine placed in a secret compartment of their heavy vehicle.
They hid the drugs by transporting legal goods and documents showing that the products should be moved from the United States to Canada. American border agents, however, carried out an additional excavation of the vehicle using an X -ray reader and a sniff dog and found the compartment.
A search for the vehicle license plate carried out by CBC News revealed that the trailer belonged to a company based in Brampton, in the suburbs of Toronto, linked to Mr. Rowal, who is 65 years old.
In October 2024, the FBI and the Royal Canada Gendarmerie (RCMP) announced the indictment of 16 members of the drug trafficking network, including Ryan Wedding. There GRC Then said Ranjit Singh Rowal and Iqbal Singh Virk had been arrested in the United States.
Four Canadians were also arrested in Ontario at the moment at the request of the American authorities. One of them, Rakhim Ibragimov, recently agreed to be extradited to the United States. Another, Gurpreet Singh, was denied a bailing release earlier this year. His uncle, Hardeep Ratte, is still behind bars.
Gurpreet Singh and Hardeep Ratte should appear in Toronto on Wednesday.