A Montreal man and four other Canadians are among 19 people indicted for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine and other narcotics from Mexico to the United States and Canada, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.
The department said police forces in all three countries participated in Operation Dead Hand and helped dismantle the international drug trafficking network, which allegedly employed Canadian truckers to redistribute millions of dollars worth of narcotics across North America.
Ten people were arrested Tuesday morning after search warrants were executed in several cities, including Montreal, Calgary, Toronto, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Miami and Odessa, Texas.
Seven suspects, including three Mexicans suspected of being wholesale drug suppliers, are still wanted and are considered fugitives, the DOJ said in a statement. Other suspects were already in custody.
“Until today, the organized members of this conspiracy operated with impunity throughout the many thousands of miles that comprise the North American continent, poisoning communities along the way,” said Donald Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office in a statement from the DOJ.
The accused were charged in two federal indictments returned by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles earlier this month, which were unsealed Tuesday.
Among those indicted was Montrealer Roberto Scoppa, 55, described by the DOJ as “an alleged drug trafficker with close ties to an Italian organized crime family in Montreal.”
Investigators allege Scoppa “was purchasing massive quantities of drugs on a wholesale basis,” the department said.
Scoppa is the brother of Salvatore Scoppa and Andrea “Andrew” Scoppa, who police say were high-level members of the Italian Mafia in Montreal. Both men were shot dead within months of each other in 2019.
Court records showed Roberto Scoppa appeared in court in Montreal to face the U.S. charges on Tuesday. The RCMP say he was arrested earlier Tuesday along with the other four Canadian suspects. American prosecutors are seeking their extradition to the U.S.
Another Canadian, Guramrit Sidhu of Brampton, Ont., is alleged to have “orchestrated the trafficking and exportation of large-scale quantities of controlled substances to Canada” by working with other co-defendants, who are described as suppliers.
“According to the indictment, Sidhu occupied a position of organizer, supervisor, and manager, and in this role obtained substantial income and resources,” the DOJ said.
Ivan Gravel Gonzalez, a Montreal resident, was among those alleged to have worked on Sidhu’s exportation team.
The other two Canadians, Ayush Sharma of Brampton and Calgary resident Subham Kumar, allegedly used their jobs as semi-truck drivers to help export drugs into Canada.
Investigators say Mexico-based suppliers facilitated the delivery of large amounts of narcotics into the U.S., which made their way to California.
Canadian “dispatchers” and “handlers” then allegedly travelled from Canada to Los Angeles for short periods of time, and coordinated the pick-up and delivery of large shipments of cocaine and methamphetamine. The drugs, as well as wholesale quantities of fentanyl, were loaded onto long-haul semi trucks destined for Canada, according to the indictments.
Investigators say a network of drivers working with dozens of transportation companies used the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, the Buffalo Peace Bridge and the Blue Water Bridge to make numerous border crossings, bringing the narcotics into Canada.
Police seized a combined total of 1,820 kilograms of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin worth between US$16-28 million during the investigation, the indictments say.
In Canada, the Joint Organized Crime Investigation Unit (CFSEU) seized a total of $940,000 in cash, 70 kilograms of cocaine and four kilograms of heroin.
In the United States, the defendants face maximum prison sentences of 40 years to life. If convicted, some of them could face minimum sentences of 15 to 20 years, depending on what they are accused of. Sidhu faces a minimum of 20 years in prison, the DOJ said.
—With files from the Canadian Press
Comments