Truckers Cocaine Smuggling Billionaire Drug Lord

Iqbal Singh Virk and Ranjit Singh Rowal from the Toronto area have admitted to the plot to smuggle loads of drugs from California to Ontario on behalf of the wanted gang boss who has links to the Kinahan Cartel.

They were both arrested in August 2024 as they tried to cross the Blue Water Bridge from Michigan to Ontario while carrying 95kg of cocaine bricks and 20kg of heroin in a secret compartment in their truck’s trailer.

They had hidden the drugs by carrying legal goods and documentation to show the products were meant to be hauled from the US to Canada.

However, when US border agents pulled over the truck for a secondary inspection, an X-ray scanner and a sniffer dog revealed the “non-factory” compartment.

CBS News reports that they are the first Canadians to sign plea deals with US prosecutors following the FBI’s sprawling investigation revealed last fall, dubbed “Operation Giant Slalom.”

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – August 21st

The probe — named after Wedding’s previous career as an elite snowboarder – is aimed at dismantling his drug trafficking network, which uses commercial transport trucks to move tons of cocaine and fentanyl across North America.

The group has also been linked to at least four murders in Ontario.

According to documents filed this month in US district Court in Los Angeles, Virk and Rowal have each committed to plead guilty to charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

U.S. prosecutors have said Wedding — whose aliases include Public Enemy, Giant and “El Jefe” or “The Boss” — is still trafficking drugs while on the run, and has access to a “network of hitmen.”

Earlier this month, the FBI told CBC News it was seeking to gather tips on Wedding’s whereabouts in a region of central Mexico.

Investigators have suggested Wedding may be living in the country, under the protection of the murderous Sinaloa cartel.

The wanted Olympic athlete-turned-narco trafficker is suspected of having plastic surgery while in Mexico in a bid to evade capture.

It has been reported that the FBI in Los Angeles believes Ryan Wedding, who has a $10 million US bounty on his head, has spent his time on the run changing his appearance.

A major manhunt is underway for the former Olympian snowboarder, who may have gone under the knife to hide his identity.

“Investigators believe Wedding may have undergone plastic surgery, particularly since he has financial means,” Laura Eimiller, the spokeswoman for the LA FBI field office, told Los Angeles Magazine. “It’s not uncommon for high-profile fugitives.”

The bureau added Wedding, who is also connected with the deadly El Chapo cartel, to its 10 Most Wanted list in March while also making public the US State Department’s staggering award offer.

It was made just days after one of Wedding’s right-hand men was linked to the Kinahan Cartel in documents filed by US attorneys in a Canadian court.

Like Wedding, the US government are also offering a reward for the arrest of the Kinahans – with $5m bounty available for information on Christy snr and his two sons Daniel and Christy jnr.

Ex-Canadian snowboarder Wedding (43) whose aliases include “El Jefe” and “the Giant,” is accused of running a violent international cocaine trafficking ring that moved 60 tons of cocaine a year from Colombia through Mexico and California to Canada.

Federal prosecutors in California’s Central District have called his murderous empire one of the “most sophisticated drug trafficking networks in North America.”

Before turning to crime, Wedding was a well-known figure in winter sports and had competed in the Parallel Giant Slalom in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics where had finished in 24th place.

The FBI is focusing its worldwide manhunt for Wedding in Mexico where it released new ‘Most Wanted’ posters in Spanish.

In October 2024, Andrew Clark, a top lieutenant in the massive drug operation and Wedding’s reputed right-hand man, was captured near Mexico City a dramatic armed takedown by the Mexican military and Interpol.

Clark was extradited to Los Angeles earlier this year and remains in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center.

According to Los Angeles Magazine, investigators fear Wedding could kill witnesses while he remains on the loose.

“Prosecutors told a federal judge how Wedding is tied to some of the world’s most dangerous co-conspirators, including Hezbollah, ex-KGB agents, Hells Angeles and vicious killers tied to Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was found guilty in the US on charges related to his own murderous network,” Los Angles Magazine reports.

The government was asking the judge for a protective order in the case to protect its witnesses, warning that anyone caught up in “Operation Giant Slalom” who agrees to cut a deal could be in danger.

Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office Akil Davis said Wedding was a ‘very dangerous man.”

“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,”.

“The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man.”