A Brampton, Ont., man has pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to leading a cross-border drug trafficking operation that moved more than 850 kg (1,874 lb.) of methamphetamine and cocaine into Canada using longhaul trucks.
Guramrit Sidhu, 62, entered the plea March 26 in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, admitting to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.
According to court documents, Sidhu led an organization that trafficked drugs from the United States into Canada between September 2020 and February 2023. During a roughly six-week span in 2022, authorities seized eight loads totaling about 523 kg (1,153 lb.) of methamphetamine and 347 kg (765 lb.) of cocaine, with an estimated wholesale value of $15 million to $17 million.
Investigators said the drugs were transported across the border using longhaul semi-trucks before being distributed within Canada. Sidhu coordinated shipments by providing couriers with phone numbers and serial numbers from currency as identification “tokens” for pickups and deliveries.
Sidhu has been in U.S. custody since October 2024 after being extradited from Canada. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 9 by John A. Kronstadt and faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of life.
He is the seventh defendant to plead guilty in the case, which stems from a 23-count indictment issued in January 2024. Other defendants have already received prison sentences ranging from 27 months to 108 months.
The investigation involved multiple agencies on both sides of the border, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and authorities in Mexico, investigators say.
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