TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian lawyer accused of playing a key role in an international drug smuggling network involving a former Olympic snowboarder was granted bail on Tuesday ahead of his extradition hearing to the United States.
Deepak Paradkar, 62, was arrested with several other Canadians last month on a U.S. extradition request and as part of an FBI investigation targeting the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, now accused of leading a violent criminal organization.
Authorities are offering up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of Wedding, who’s on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. He’s believed to be living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel. Authorities say he is working with the cartel to funnel massive quantities of drugs into Canada and the U.S.
Wedding and his co-conspirators are accused of posting a photograph of a murder witness on the internet so the man could be identified and killed. The man was shot in the head in a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, in January.
Paradkar is alleged to have introduced Wedding to traffickers who moved drugs through North America and directed intelligence gathering after drugs were seized by law enforcement. The Thornhill, Ontario, lawyer is said to have advised the former athlete in the case of the murder witness.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. opposed Paradkar’s release on bail in Canada, saying he has an “extraordinary” incentive to flee if released on bail as he faces multiple life sentences if found guilty in the U.S.
Paradkar’s defense argued that he has no ties to any other country and put his family’s finances on the line to support his release.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden said in his decision that he found it “very unlikely” Paradkar, who has no criminal record, would attempt to go underground in Canada. The judge also pointed to Paradkar’s ailing health and testimony from his wife that she would ensure he complies with the bail conditions.
It is unclear when the extradition hearing will take place.