Deepak Paradkar, Gursewak Singh Among Those Arrested In High Profile Drug Case
India-West Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON, DC – The sweeping multinational cocaine and murder case that has thrust a former Canadian Olympian onto the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list is increasingly being defined by the roles of two Canadian figures, Toronto attorney Deepak Balwant Paradkar and crime site operator Gursewak Singh Bal.
Their actions, outlined in a nine count federal indictment unsealed November 19, place them at the center of what prosecutors describe as a violent criminal enterprise that moved tons of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and into the United States and Canada and then sought to eliminate a key federal witness.
While former Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding is accused of leading the network, investigators say the enterprise’s reach and ability to retaliate depended heavily on the support of people like Paradkar and Bal. Paradkar, sixty two, a well known criminal barrister in the Toronto area, is charged with helping Wedding stabilize the operation after U.S. agents intercepted major cocaine shipments in California last year. Prosecutors allege he advised Wedding that killing the cooperating witness in the federal drug case could weaken the government’s prosecution and that he then helped facilitate that plan.
According to the indictment, Paradkar arranged lawyers for arrested couriers and provided confidential court information with the understanding that it would be used to track and silence the witness.
The plot escalated as the network mobilized contacts across Canada, Colombia, and the United States to find the witness, widely identified by Canadian outlets as Jonathan Acebedo Garcia. The indictment says the search depended in part on intermediaries who could circulate photos, solicit information, and locate him.
Among them was Gursewak Singh Bal, who prosecutors say used his crime oriented website to publish the witness’s image in exchange for payment. Investigators describe this step as a key moment in the conspiracy, allowing associates in multiple countries to identify, monitor, and ultimately pinpoint the target.
Acebedo Garcia was shot to death inside a Medellin restaurant on January 31 of this year. Prosecutors say a photograph of his body was later shared within the group to confirm the killing to Wedding, who was believed to be hiding in Mexico under cartel protection.
Ten suspects have been arrested so far and nineteen have been charged. The investigation, supported by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, the State Department, the Treasury Department, the RCMP, and Colombian National Police, remains active. The State Department has increased its reward to up to fifteen million dollars for information leading to Wedding’s capture and up to two million dollars for leads identifying the assassins involved in the killing.
