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Truck drivers accused of smuggling cocaine for Ryan Wedding's alleged drug network to plead guilty: U.S. court docs
Two truck drivers who are among 10 Canadians arrested following an FBI investigation into a multi-national drug-trafficking ring allegedly run by Canadian ex-Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding have agreed to plead guilty to charges they are facing in the United States.
According to documents filed in a U.S. court this month, Canadian residents Ranjit Singh Rowal and Iqbal Singh Virk have agreed to sign plea deals with prosecutors in the United States in relation to charges filed as part of 'Operation Giant Slalom,' an FBI investigation into Wedding's alleged criminal drug-smuggling network.
The charges Virk and Rowal have agreed to plead to include conspiracy to distribute cocaine, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
A U.S. indictment unsealed last year revealed details about the large-scale FBI investigation. In the indictment, the FBI alleges that over a period of several months, illegal drugs, including 1,800 kilograms of cocaine, were transported from Colombia, through Mexico and southern California, to Canada and other parts of the U.S. using a network of dispatchers, drivers, distributors, and stash houses.
Rowal and Virk were two of the drivers who were arrested for their involvement in the alleged scheme.
According to the facts outlined in the plea agreement, Rowal and Virk were arrested in August 2024 after attempting to enter Canada from Port Huron, Mich.
The documents state that the pair told law enforcement at the border that they were transporting steel bars into Canada but during an initial inspection of the truck, an X-Ray scan revealed 'anomalies' in the trailer.
A secondary inspection, which included K-9 officers, brought attention to the rear of the trailer and upon further investigation, a 'non-factory hidden compartment' was located. It contained 115 bricks of white powder containing 'a detectable amount of cocaine and heroin,' the documents read.
The documents also outlined another instance prior to their arrest where the pair were contracted to transport drugs from California into Canada.
According to details in the plea agreement, the two entered the U.S. from Canada in a long-haul semi-truck on April 28, 2024 and on May 3, 2024, parked the truck at a rest stop in Ontario, California in anticipation of a drug delivery.
The shipment, the documents state, was eventually called off after it was discovered that the truck only had space for 250 kilograms of cocaine rather than the 347 kilograms that was supposed to be taken across the border. The head of the distribution network refused to take a lesser price for shipping a smaller quantity and the shipment was cancelled, the documents read.
While the vast majority of those wanted in Operation Giant Slalom have been apprehended, Wedding, the alleged boss of the multi-national, billion dollar drug empire, remains at large.
Wedding and his alleged 'second in command' are accused of directing a combined four murders in Ontario in furtherance of their drug empire, the FBI said.
'The FBI believes Wedding is in Mexico. We will never rule out that a fugitive could be in another country, particularly someone like Wedding with financial means, but that is where our publicity efforts are focused at this time,' Laura Eimiller, a spokesperson with the FBI, said in an email to CTV News Toronto earlier this month.
Eimiller added the FBI believes Wedding is being protected by the Sinaloa Cartel.
U.S. prosecutors said earlier this year that they suspected Wedding still had access to a 'network of hitmen' and the RCMP previously said they believe 'elements' of his alleged operation are still active in Canada.
With files from CTV Toronto's Phil Tsekouras
