A Canadian national accused of heading a transnational drug trafficking operation pleaded guilty Thursday, the FBI in Los Angeles said. Authorities say the group moved more than 850 kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine from the United States into Canada, with an estimated wholesale value of about USD 15 million to 17 million.
The Department of Justice identified the defendant as Guramrit Sidhu, 62, of Brampton, Ontario. Sidhu entered a guilty plea to one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. He is the lead defendant in a 23-count federal indictment returned in January 2024 and has been in federal custody since his extradition from Canada in October 2024.
According to the plea agreement, Sidhu led the organisation from September 2020 through February 2023. In a focused period between September 13, 2022, and October 24, 2022, law enforcement seized eight separate shipments arranged by the group totaling approximately 523 kilograms (about 1,153 pounds) of methamphetamine and 347 kilograms (about 765 pounds) of cocaine.
Investigators say Sidhu and associates purchased bulk quantities of narcotics in the United States and moved them into Canada using long-haul semi-trucks. Couriers were given identifying ‘tokens’—telephone numbers and serial numbers written on bills—to confirm deliveries. Once across the border, Sidhu and co-conspirators collected the shipments at locations inside Canada for further distribution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Larocque of the Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting the case. U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt has scheduled sentencing for July 9. Under federal law, Sidhu faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
Sidhu is the seventh defendant in the indictment to plead guilty. Other participants in the case have already been sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 27 months to 108 months.
The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the FBI in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with significant assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs coordinated with Canadian authorities to secure Sidhu’s arrest and extradition.
