Seven Canadians have been apprehended for extradition to the United States as part of an investigation involving a former Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged drug lord who is wanted for the murder of a federal witness in January.
Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta residents were identified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the FBI, and the RCMP this week as allegedly being involved in the suspected drug empire of Ryan James Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder who now sits atop the FBI’s 10 most-wanted fugitives list. The accused includes a lawyer, a musician, and a news website operator.
Wedding, who represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, has been accused by the FBI of heading a transnational drug trafficking operation that ships hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to the United States and Canada via Mexico and southern California. The FBI raised the award to $15 million on Nov. 19 for information leading to Wedding’s capture.
The FBI is also offering additional rewards for tips that lead to the arrests of the unknown assassins who executed the federal witness in Medellín, Colombia. The FBI said the witness was found dead in January, executed with “five bullets to the head.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told a Nov. 19 press conference that Wedding’s alleged operation was responsible for more than $1 billion a year in illegal drug proceeds as well as several murders.
“He controls one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in this world,” Bondi said, adding that under Wedding’s direction his operation has trafficked 60 metric tons of cocaine per year.
“He is currently the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada,” she said.
Wedding is said to be residing in Mexico and has connections to the Sinaloa Cartel, a major drug trafficking organization based in Mexico, that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization in both the United States and Canada. He is wanted on murder charges in both the U.S. and Canada.
Canadians Arrested
The seven Canadians charged this week as part of a joint U.S.-Canada initiative known as Operation Giant Slalom brings the total number of people arrested and indicted in connection with Wedding to 36, officials said. Several of the suspects arrested this week are accused of helping track down and orchestrate the murder of the key witness in a 2024 federal narcotics case against Wedding.
Here are the seven individuals charged this week:
Deepak Paradkar
Deepak Paradkar, 62, of Thornhill, Ont., is Wedding’s attorney, according to the nine-count federal indictment against him. Paradkar, who law enforcement officials have dubbed “the cocaine lawyer,” is a dual Indian-Canadian citizen.
The newly unsealed indictment accuses him of recommending the murder of the witness so that Wedding and his alleged right-hand man, Andrew Clark, could avoid extradition from Mexico for the criminal charges being brought against them. While Wedding evaded capture, Clark was arrested by Mexican law enforcement last October and was extradited to the United States in February.
The indictment also alleges Paradkar provided “a range of illegal services to Wedding and his drug trafficking organization beyond the scope of a normal attorney-client relationship.”
He is also accused of providing Wedding with court documents and evidentiary materials from the 2024 criminal case. Law enforcement officials alleged he was paid with luxury watches and “additional fees.”
Gursewak Singh Bal
Thirty-one-year-old Gursewak Singh Bal of Mississauga, Ont., was the founder and operator of a Canadian urban news outlet known as “the Dirty News.” The indictment accuses him of taking $10,000 last October to post a photograph of the federal witness so he could be found and killed.
He is also accused of posting about the witness on Instagram. A Nov. 5, 2024, post quote in the indictment said: “This guy single handedly (rat emoji) out one of the strongest underworld networks that this (earth emoji) has seen. Good chance he’ll never be found again.”
A Jan. 31 post quoted by the indictment contained a photograph of the restaurant in Medellín and the bottom part of a body lying on the ground with a caption that read: “[Victim A] down…” and “BOOM! Headshot.”
Atna Ohna
Forty-year-old Atna Ohna, also known as “Tupac,” is accused of being a hired hitman and playing a role in the murder of the victim. The indictment accuses the Laval, Que., resident of helping to track down the victim and supplying Wedding with identifying details regarding one of the victim’s associates.
Officials allege he was given $150,000 and 30 kilograms of cocaine as payment.
Allistair Chapman
Calgary resident Allistair Chapman, 33, is accused of paying Bal for his post and providing a photograph of the victim. The indictment also says he was believed to be involved with Ohna and other associates in assisting to locate the witness and allegedly called the victim “a snitch” in text messages.
Ahmad Nabil Zitoun
Thirty-five-year-old Edmonton resident Ahmad Nabil Zitoun is accused of being paid $40,000 to track down the witness.
The indictment alleges he travelled first to Medellín and then to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on orders from Clark and Wedding to locate the victim. The document also alleges that Zitoun was asked to carry out the hit, but he declined the contract.
Edwin Basora-Hernandez
Reggaeton musician Edwin Basora-Hernandez, a 31-year-old from Montreal, is accused of giving the victim’s contact information to Wedding and his associates.
The Dominican citizen and resident of Canada was reportedly contacted last November for information about the witness. The indictment alleges he provided the victim’s cellphone number and email address in exchange for roughly $1,000.
Basora-Hernandez also reportedly told Wedding he was approached by Canadian law enforcement who were seeking the victim’s whereabouts.
Rolan Sokolovski
Toronto resident Rolan Sokolovski, 37, is accused of managing and laundering the proceeds of Wedding’s alleged criminal network.
The indictment describes Sokolovsk as a Lithuanian-Canadian citizen and professional poker player who owns a jewelry business. He is also accused of making a necklace for Ohna as a reward for his role in the victim’s death.
None of the accusations listed in the indictment against any of the accused have been tested in court. Authorities said the defendants charged in connection with the victim’s murder would face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison if convicted.
Additional Arrests
Two additional Canadian residents and a Mexican resident are wanted by international authorities and remain at large, the DOJ said.
They are Bianca Canastillo-Madrid, 37, of Mexico City, Rasheed Pascua Hossain, 32, of Vancouver, B.C., and Tommy Demorizi, 35, of Montreal, who is believed to be a fugitive in the Dominican Republic.
Along with this week’s arrests, law enforcement has initiated immigration proceedings against individuals connected to Wedding’s enterprise, including Latin pop artist Samantha Melissa Granda-Gastelu, 38, a Canadian national residing in Aventura, Florida. Her husband, Nahim Jorge Bonilla, 37, has been indicted on unrelated murder conspiracy charges and is currently in federal custody, charged with drug trafficking crimes.
Immigration action is also being pursued against Madeline Paradkar, 27, a Canadian citizen residing in Chicago, who is an attorney and the daughter of Deepak Paradkar.
Authorities have also arrested 45-year-old Wilson Riascos, of Cali, Colombia, 47-year-old Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez, of Bogotá, Colombia, and 36-year-old Yulieth Katherine Tejada, of Orlando, Florida, who is a legal permanent resident from Colombia.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the Canadian federal force’s involvement in Operation Giant Slalom is “vital to our ability to stay ahead of organized crime.”
“The RCMP and its international law enforcement partners work together closely, regularly sharing knowledge, technical expertise, and intelligence to enable us to collectively target the most serious organized crime groups that threaten our countries—no matter where they are operating in the world,” he said in a statement.
Wedding Linked to Additional Killings
Wedding, who is also known as “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” has been on the run since 2023. It is believed the 44-year-old Thunder Bay, Ont., native is living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel, officials said.
Wedding and Clark, a fellow Canadian, are accused of orchestrating the murders of an Indian couple in Caledon, Ont., in November of 2023, who were mistakenly targeted in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment, police said.
A triple shooting in Caledon, Ont., left Jagtar Singh Sidhu, 57, his 55-year-old wife Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu dead and 28-year-old Jaspreet Kaur Sidhu with “life altering injuries,” police said. The Caledon murders were later connected to three residential shootings in Brampton, Ont., and a homicide in Mississauga, Ont.
Wedding faces several federal charges in the United States, including conspiracy to export cocaine, continuing a criminal enterprise, murder and attempted murder in connection with a criminal enterprise, and drug crime.
Wedding would be subject to a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison if caught and convicted.
He is described as six-foot-three and approximately 240 pounds. FBI assistant director in Los Angeles Akil Davis said Wedding may change his appearance and hair colour and should not be approached because he is dangerous.
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