Two GTA men fighting extradition to the U.S. over their role in a drug trafficking syndicate allegedly led by Canadian ex-Olympian and fugitive drug lord Ryan Weddingare asking prosecutors to reveal more evidence to the defence in the wake of the apparent assassinationof a “critical” FBI witness.
Canadian Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia was killed in a daylight shooting in Medellin, Colombia, late last month.
Canadian Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia was killed in a daylight shooting in Medellin, Colombia, late last month.
Gurpreet Singh, 31, and his uncle, Hardeep Ratte, 46, are in Canadian custody facing extradition for allegedly organizing shipments of more than 650 kilograms of cocaine into Canada on behalf of Wedding’s criminal enterprise.
The defence request earlier this week puts a spotlight on how the case will now proceed without the testimony of the FBI’s inside man, who had been at the centre of the evidence presented so far at the extradition hearings unfolding in a ɫɫ court.
According to U.S. authorities, Wedding and his alleged second-in-command, Andrew Clark, led a billion-dollar organization that shipped tonnes of cocaine into Canada each year and directed a series of international murders, including the execution-style killings of an Indian couple in the GTA who were mistakenly targeted in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.
The future of the high-profile case — a story that continues to make international headlines — was thrown into question earlier this year by the apparent assassination of a confidential witness in Medellin, Colombia. That witness has not been named in the records of the case, but the Star has previously identified him as Jonathan Acebedo Garcia, a 42-year-old Canadian-Colombian citizen.
The original records of the FBI investigation relied upon the witness’s accounts, but “that person met his death in the interim and is no longer available as a witness,” Singh’s lawyer Brian Greenspan told the virtual court on Monday.
“There has never been an admission that he is dead, although we all know he’s dead.”
The blockbuster allegations against Wedding were announced by the FBI in October of last year; a total of 16 people were named in the indictment. Wedding, the alleged mastermind, competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and remains at large.
He is believed to be hiding in Mexico under the protection of the murderous Sinaloa Cartel; authorities recently said he may have undergone plastic surgery. Clark, meanwhile, was arrested in Mexico last year and is in custody in California awaiting trial.
Authorities have previously warned that Wedding still has access to a “network of hit men.”
So far, there has been no confirmation or mention of Garcia’s death from law enforcement officials, but the ɫɫ extradition hearing has been informed that the case’s key witness would no longer testify at trial.
U.S. authorities say there is “some evidence” that Wedding, who is believed to be in Mexico, has undergone a procedure.The Canadian man continues
U.S. authorities say there is “some evidence” that Wedding, who is believed to be in Mexico, has undergone a procedure.The Canadian man continues
Documents filed in both the U.S. and Canada reveal how authorities relied heavily on evidence obtained by Garcia, including encrypted text messages detailing the arrangement of cocaine shipments into Canada and recorded conversations with key players, including meeting Wedding and Clark in Mexico City in January 2024.
Garcia, who was born in Montreal and recently lived in Colombia, worked with Wedding for more than a decade before agreeing in 2023 to help investigators, the records say. Prosecutors said Garcia agreed to be a witness “in the hope of receiving consideration in any charging decisions related to his role” in the organization.
In one instance, the documents allege that Garcia met with Singh and Ratte at an autobody shop in Brampton in February 2024. There, the pair allegedly agreed to transport cocaine from California to Canada for a flat rate of $220,000 per shipment.
Using encrypted messaging, Singh allegedly made a group chat between him, the witness and Ratte to organize two cocaine shipments — 293 kilos in March 2024 and 375 kilos in April — worth an estimated $9 million.
None of the allegations against the men have been tested in court.
On Monday, Greenspan argued that Garcia’s death means his client needs new evidence disclosure to mount an effective defence against extradition.
Greenspan also noted that “significant evidence” against Singh and Ratte was gathered on Canadian — not American — soil. He cited one instance in which the RCMP received Quebec judicial authorization to intercept communications in Brampton — a clear reference to the meeting at the auto shop with the key witness.
During court proceedings for Singh earlier this year, court heard how Singh was once held hostage by the Sinaloa Cartel over a $600,000 drug debt — only to be freed by Wedding himself.
Singh had travelled to Culiacan, Mexico, Sinaloa’s capital, sometime around July 2024 to meet with a cartel leader in an attempt to resolve the debt, according to communications obtained by U.S. authorities.
On Aug. 2, he was kidnapped, bound and given until the end of the day to pay the money, prosecutors said. Wedding negotiated his release with the cartel over the subsequent days.
Records obtained by the Star reveal how an FBI investigation into a drug network linked toex-Olympian Ryan Wedding was turned on its head by a
Records obtained by the Star reveal how an FBI investigation into a drug network linked toex-Olympian Ryan Wedding was turned on its head by a
The defence is also concerned about issues of law enforcement over Singh’s kidnapping, Greenspan said. Evidence disclosure could push back the extradition hearing to determine Singh and Ratte’s fate, which is otherwise set to take place early next year.
Singh and Ratte were among four people arrested in Ontario and facing extradition to the U.S. for their alleged roles in Wedding’s alleged criminal enterprise. Rakhim Ibragimov, 48, who is accused of being a courier for the organization, agreed in July to be extradited to California.
Malik Cunningham, 24, who is charged alongside Clark in the execution-style killing of a 29-year-old Niagara Falls man, is expected to have a hearing in ɫɫ in January.
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