California Court Sentences Man To 20 Years In US-Canada Drug Case
Photo: FBI
India-West News Desk
LOS ANGELES, CA – A Canadian national who headed a cross-border drug trafficking operation has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for moving more than 850 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine from the US into Canada.
Guramrit Sidhu, 63, of Brampton, Ontario, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said.
Sidhu’s organization operated from September 2020 to February 2023, trafficking drugs purchased in the United States across the border for distribution in Canada, according to federal prosecutors.
Authorities seized eight shipments coordinated by Sidhu between September 13 and October 24, 2022. Together, they contained approximately 523 kilograms of methamphetamine and 347 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated wholesale value of $15 million to $17 million.
The drugs were moved into Canada in long-haul semi-trucks. As part of the operation, Sidhu gave couriers telephone numbers and serial numbers from currency bills to verify their identities during pickups and transportation, according to his plea agreement.
Once the shipments reached Canada, Sidhu and other members of the organization retrieved the drugs from various locations for further distribution.
Sidhu pleaded guilty on March 26 to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and has remained in federal custody since October 2024. He is the eighth defendant to plead guilty in the case.
Other defendants convicted in connection with the operation have received federal prison sentences ranging from 27 months to 108 months.
The investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from the United States, Canada and Mexico, including the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration also assisted.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Canadian authorities on Sidhu’s arrest and extradition to the United States in October 2024.
