The lawyer of defense of the alleged Canadian partner of the fugitive wedding Ryan raised doubts about the profitability of the case against his client after the murder of a key witness.
There were GurPreet Singh-Mattred trucks for help in the coordination of cocaine shipments from California to Canada on behalf of the alleged criminal wedding ring-he got at the trial in favor of a bail in the center of Toronto on Friday. He is threatened with extradition to the USA, where prosecutors want him to stand in court on a charge related to drugs.
A wedding that competed in Canada as a snowboarder at the Olympic Games in 2002 in Utah, was Named last week One of the 10 most often FUGITIVs FBI. The authorities offer an award for $ 10 million for information leading to his arrest.
In court on Friday, defense lawyer Peter Thorning raised the perspective that the case of the American authorities against Singh may be “weakened” when the main witness of the FBI in the investigation will no longer testify. He said that the Canadian authorities had not given a change in plans.
Witness, a former drug dealer who became informed, was the first identified By the Toronto star as the Canadian-Columbian Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia. A long -time wedding colleague, court files suggest that two met for the first time when both of them were trapped in Texas over ten years ago.
According to Colombian media reports, Acebed-Garcia was shot at the Medellin restaurant in January, before he could testify in the vast case of the FBI against the wedding and his colleagues.
According to the summary of American evidence submitted to the Supreme Court in Ontario, the witness met with Singh and his uncle and co -accused, Hardeep Ratte, in a car -body store in Toronto as part of the FBI investigation. At the meeting – which according to prosecutors were recorded – Singh and Ratte allegedly agreed to transport mass amounts of cocaine on behalf of the wedding network.
Ryan Wedding once represented Canada as an Olympic snowboarder; Now he is accused of being a drug king and is on the list of the most sought after FBI – with a prize of $ 10 million offered for information leading to his arrest. Thomas Daigle from CBC follows his shocking path from the top of the slopes to the underground world.
“This is a case related to one eyewitness to the most important evidence in this case, which is the meeting,” said Thorning Supreme Court Michael Dineen.
American prosecutors warned against granting a deposit to Singh, one of the four co -accused wedding in Ontario. They suggested in the last letter submitted to the court in Ontario that the 31 -year -old Singh is a “important” risk of flight and that the recent kidnapping incident suggests that he and his girlfriend are guilty of long.
“The wedding should not be admitted to an additional loyal by issuing a Singh on a deposit,” they recently wrote an assistant from Los Angeles, Maria Jhai and Lyndsi Allsop.
According to prosecutors, the wedding accepted recognition for negotiating the release of Singh last summer, after a man born in Brampton was kidnapped by members of the cartel at Sinaloa, Mexico, over USD 600,000 USD of drug debt.
Singha lawyer, Thorning said on Friday that he would not comment on all “wild statements” in court. But he insisted that Singh would not be a risk of flight and should be released after the bail.
“There is no evidence of any ability to escape,” said Thorning.
Earlier that day Singh testified from the witness's box, speaking quietly – sometimes making it difficult to hear from a public gallery – in a gray jacket and navy. He said that he did not receive income, because his activities for dump trucks went bankrupt in 2021.
Asked by the Federal Crown Advisor Kiran Gill about several long stays abroad – this weeks or months during the time spent in the United Arab Emirates, Colombia and Mexico – Singh described them as business trips for his girlfriend, with all expenses.
Singh testified that she “was looking for more locations” for the Brunch restaurant in Toronto, he testified Singh.
According to court files, the key FBI witness also flew to meet Singhem last year in Dubai. American prosecutors say Singh has “extensive organized criminal connections in Dubai, including relations with members of the Kinahan gang, who is a well -known, brutal group organized organized crime acting around the world.”
Apparently Singh was also involved in the program to send stolen high -class cars to Dubai through the Port of Montreal.
The police in Toronto arrested Singha in October on the 34th floor of the five -star Hotel St. Regis. He told the court that he lived there with his girlfriend and that she covered rent payments. The woman sat in silence in the courtroom for Singh's testimony.
His interrogation with a deposit lasts on Friday afternoon.