BC Fugitive Arrested in Mexico in International Drug Trafficking Case

A Canadian citizen from B.C. has been arrested in Mexico in connection with an international drug trafficking investigation and is expected to be extradited to Canada to face charges.

Denis Ivziku, who had been on the run for four years, was arrested by Mexican police in Cancun on May 14.

“Mr. Ivziku is wanted for prosecution in Manitoba for Conspiracy to Traffic a Controlled Substance (3 counts) and Conspiracy to Possess Proceeds obtained by Crime. He was arrested on May 14, 2026, in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, and is now facing extradition proceedings in Mexico,” the Justice Department said in an email to The Epoch Times.

Police had been searching for Ivziku for his alleged connection with Project Divergent, an investigation into an international drug trafficking operation involving drugs from Mexican cartels that were smuggled into Canada via Manitoba.

That investigation was launched in 2018, and in early 2022, police made 22 arrests, but were still looking for Ivziku and one other suspect, Winnipeg man Kieffer Michael Kramar.

The project was launched jointly by the RCMP and other police agencies after they saw a surge in international drug and weapons imports into Canada, including large volumes of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and firearms. Police also found a connection with the motorcycle gang Hells Angels, and arrested Hells Angels member Damion Ryan as part of the investigation.

While incarcerated in Canada in connection with Project Divergent, Ryan was also indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2024 for allegedly conspiring with another individual to have two residents of Maryland murdered.

During a trial for Ryan in 2025, the court heard that Ivziku had allegedly sold large quantities of methamphetamine to an RCMP informant on several occasions.

An update from the Burnaby and Winnipeg RCMP in mid 2022 said that Ivziku was the only individual remaining to be arrested in connection with the investigation.

In an email to The Epoch Times, Manitoba RCMP confirmed Ivziku’s May 14 arrest, saying: “The RCMP is aware of the arrest of Denis Ivziku by Mexican authorities. As the matter is within the jurisdiction of that country, no further details can be provided at this time.”

“Through its International Policing Program, the RCMP supports global efforts to address transnational organized crime and advances investigations with a Canadian nexus,” it said.

Recent years have seen a series of Canadian nationals arrested abroad or at home and extradited to face drug trafficking charges in the United States and other jurisdictions, including cases tied to large-scale cartel networks and transnational organized crime investigations.

In a recent case, a B.C. man was extradited from Germany to Canada in April after his arrest in February, following a four-year investigation into an alleged dark web drug trafficking network. In that case, RCMP said the suspect had been operating a cross-country distribution system involving fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine that used encrypted communications and Canada Post shipments to move illicit drugs across Canada.

Authorities said the arrest highlighted the increasing use of international warrants and coordinated enforcement efforts with European partners to locate and return suspects who attempt to evade prosecution abroad.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.