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Indo-Canadian pleads guilty in 850-kg drug smuggling case
Authorities said the shipments included methamphetamine and cocaine valued at up to $17 million.
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Malvika Choudhary - Fri, 27, Mar 2026
- 13:21 EDT
- 21
Drugs confiscated by FBI / Drugs confiscated by FBI
An Indo-Canadian man on March 26 pleaded guilty to leading a drug trafficking organization that smuggled more than 850 kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine from the U.S. into Canada, the Department of Justice said.
Guramrit Sidhu, 62, of Brampton, Ontario, pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.He has been in U.S. federal custody since October 2024 after being extradited from Canada.
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According to prosecutors, Sidhu admitted to leading an organization from September 2020 to February 2023 that trafficked narcotics from the United States into Canada for distribution.
Gurameit Sidhu, 62, of Brampton, Ontario, a Canadian national, pleaded guilty today to leading a criminal organization that – during a roughly one-month span – trafficked from the United States into Canada hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine worth up to $17… pic.twitter.com/C1bRcCKch1
— FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) March 26, 2026
Authorities said that between Sept. 13 and Oct. 24, 2022, Sidhu orchestrated eight separate drug shipments involving approximately 523 kilograms of methamphetamine and 347 kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement seized the shipments, which prosecutors said had an estimated wholesale value of $15 million to $17 million.
Prosecutors said Sidhu bought bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine in the U.S. and arranged for them to be transported into Canada in long-haul semi-trucks.
To facilitate deliveries, he allegedly gave couriers telephone numbers and serial numbers from currency bills to use as identification “tokens” during handoffs. The narcotics were later retrieved at locations in Canada for further distribution, court documents said.
Sidhu was named as the lead defendant in a 23-count federal indictment unsealed in January 2024 targeting what authorities described as an international narcotics trafficking network operating across North America. Prosecutors alleged that he served as an organizer, supervisor, and manager of the operation and derived substantial income from it.
The guilty plea stems from a broader federal investigation made public in January 2024, when U.S. authorities announced indictments tied to what they described as an international trafficking network operating across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Prosecutors said the wider probe involved 19 defendants and led to the seizure of approximately 845 kilograms of methamphetamine, 951 kilograms of cocaine, 20 kilograms of fentanyl, 4 kilograms of heroin and more than $900,000 in cash.
Sidhu is the seventh defendant to plead guilty in the case, prosecutors said. Several other defendants have already been sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 27 months to 108 months.
U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt has scheduled Sidhu’s sentencing for July 9. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and authorities in Mexico, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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