According to the FBI, a Toronto-area man at the centre of a massive cocaine trafficking conspiracy was once held hostage by the Sinaloa Cartel over a $600,000 drug debt 鈥 only to be freed by ex-Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned fugitive drug lord Ryan Wedding.
Gurpeet Singh, 31, is in Canadian custody facing extradition to the U.S. for allegedly co-ordinating shipments of more than 650 kilograms of cocaine into Canada on behalf of Wedding鈥檚 criminal organization.
American authorities have described the 鈥淲edding Criminal Enterprise鈥 as a billion-dollar organization that shipped tonnes of cocaine and ordered a series of international assassinations 鈥 including the killings of聽an Indian couple in Caledon who were mistakenly targeted聽in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.
The status of the high-profile case 鈥 which has made headlines around the world 鈥 was recently thrown into the air over the apparent assassination of a key confidential witness in Medellin, Colombia.聽
Canadian Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia was killed in a daylight shooting in Medellin, Colombia, late
The allegations against Singh and Hardeep Ratte, his uncle and co-accused, were first announced in October by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in a sweeping indictment against the organization allegedly run by the fugitive Wedding, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and his alleged second in command, Andrew Clark, who is in custody.
A total of 16 people were named; 14 have been arrested across Colombia, Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
On Tuesday, a downtown 海角社区官网court heard new details about the allegations against Singh, who is seeking bail pending a decision on his extradition. Singh and Ratte are accused of co-ordinating two shipments of cocaine 鈥 valued at more than $9 million 鈥 between February and April of last year.聽
None of the allegations have been tested in court; Singh’s defence lawyer, Peter Thorning, said he will contest the U.S. authorities’ claims.
Kidnapped in Mexico
On Tuesday, Crown prosecutors said that U.S. authorities allegedly obtained communications that show Singh travelled to Culiacan, Mexico 鈥 the capital of Sinaloa 鈥 no later than July 2024 to meet with a cartel leader in an attempt to resolve a $600,000 drug debt.
On Aug. 2, 2024, prosecutors聽said, Singh reported he had been kidnapped, bound, and 鈥済iven till the end of the day to pay the debt.鈥
Wedding eventually had to step in and, according to the U.S. intercepts, negotiated Singh鈥檚 release with the cartel over the next five days.
Gurpreet Singh, left, and his uncle, Hardeep Ratte.
Ontario Superior Court ExhibitThe FBI has previously said Wedding had been living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel 鈥 once led by Joaqu铆n (El Chapo) Guzm谩n; Wedding鈥檚 co-accused, Andrew Clark, was arrested in Mexico in October.
On Tuesday, Singh was escorted into the courtroom in handcuffs. Wearing a grey blazer and black turtleneck, he flashed a brief smile at a handful of supporters before taking his place in the prisoners鈥 dock.聽
If extradited and convicted, he faces a sentence of a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life behind bars.
In general, extradition courts assess the strength of a foreign prosecution to determine if an accused person should be sent out of Canada to stand trial. The judge must determine if the evidence would be聽, if the conduct had occurred here.
Four Canadians are in 海角社区官网court facing extradition in the FBI-led investigation.
The assassination of a key witness
Tuesday鈥檚 hearing comes a week after聽the Star revealed that a key witness, identified through a source as Canadian-Colombian Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, was killed聽in Colombia in an apparent assassination on Jan. 31.
The development has not been announced by prosecutors in Canada or the U.S., and authorities across both jurisdictions have declined to comment.
However, court documents reveal how the FBI relied heavily on evidence gathered by Acebedo-Garcia, who worked with Wedding for more than a decade before agreeing in 2023 to help the investigation.
Seized drugs are displayed at a news conference at the FBI offices in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2024.
AP Photo/Damian DovarganesIn one instance, the documents allege the confidential witness 鈥 Acebedo-Garcia is not identified in the documents 鈥 met with Singh and his uncle Ratte in 海角社区官网in February 2024. In the meeting, the pair allegedly agreed to transport cocaine from California to Canada for a flat rate of $220,000 per load.
Using an encrypted message app called Threema, Singh then allegedly made a group chat between him, the witness and Ratte to co-ordinate two cocaine shipments 鈥 one in March 2024, carrying 293 kilograms of cocaine and another in April, for 375 kilograms.
Last week, Thorning, Singh鈥檚 lawyer,聽told court that the Crown informed him the confidential witness would no longer testify at trial, but gave 鈥渘o explanation as to why.鈥 The Crown asked that the matter be adjourned for three weeks to submit new disclosure as U.S. prosecutors will be providing 鈥渁 supplementary record of the case.鈥
Alleged ties to worldwide organized crime
Prosecutors at Tuesday鈥檚 hearing also alleged Singh has links to 鈥渧iolent鈥 worldwide crime groups and has made 鈥渞outine鈥 trips to Dubai, where he is accused of having ties to organized crime.聽
Among other things, Singh was accused of previously being involved in 鈥渁 scheme to ship stolen high-end cars through the port of Montreal to Dubai.鈥
Ratte previously applied for bail last month; the decision was adjourned following a two-day hearing.
In court documents opposing Ratte鈥檚 release, U.S. prosecutors wrote that he poses a major risk of flight if granted bail and 鈥 through Singh 鈥 has access to a 鈥sophisticated organized crime network in Dubai from whom he could easily seek protection.鈥
Singh鈥檚 bail hearing will resume on Wednesday.聽
The investigation into the cross-border drug operation began after the killings of Jagtar Singh Sidhu, 57, and his wife Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu, 55, in Caledon.
It鈥檚 been one year since Jagtar and Harbhajan Sidhu were killed in a “mistaken identity” attack
The couple were visiting from India and had only been in Canada聽a few months before they were gunned down. Their daughter, Jaspreet, was also shot 13 times聽but survived.
According to the FBI, the Sidhus were killed when Wedding and Clark sent gunmen after an individual they blamed for the theft of a cocaine shipment.聽
More than a year later, their killers haven鈥檛 been caught.
U.S. authorities have said that Wedding remains at large and is likely somewhere beyond the southern U.S. border. There is a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
