Executive Summary
- Gursewak Singh Bal, founder of the crime blog “The Dirty Newz,” faces U.S. charges for his alleged role in a murder-for-hire plot targeting a government witness.
- The indictment claims Bal was paid $10,000 by an associate of fugitive drug kingpin Ryan Wedding to post the victim’s photo online, leading to his location and murder in Colombia.
- Bal’s blog was already under a separate two-year criminal investigation in British Columbia for publishing sensitive law enforcement documents.
- The FBI has seized the blog’s domain as part of a larger investigation into Wedding’s alleged international criminal organization.
The operator of a Canadian crime blog, “The Dirty Newz,” has been charged in the United States in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot, federal officials announced. The U.S. indictment against Gursewak Singh Bal was unsealed as his website was already the subject of a separate, two-year criminal investigation in British Columbia for allegedly publishing sensitive law enforcement documents.
U.S. prosecutors allege that Bal, 31, conspired with associates of accused drug kingpin and former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding to locate and facilitate the murder of a government witness in Colombia. An indictment claims Bal was paid $10,000 by Wedding’s associate, Allistair Chapman, to post a photograph and information about the witness, identified as “Victim A,” on his social media platforms to help assassins find him.
According to the indictment, after Bal posted the victim’s photo in November 2024, Wedding allegedly confirmed the individual was killed at a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia, on January 31, 2025. Following the murder, Bal reportedly posted a photo of the crime scene with the caption, “(Victim A) down…” and “BOOM! Headshot.” The FBI has since seized the blog’s domain.
These U.S. charges come as Bal’s site was already under scrutiny in Canada. In November 2023, the B.C. Public Safety Ministry initiated an investigation, led by the RCMP’s major crimes unit, after the blog published an internal police intelligence document. B.C. RCMP confirmed Wednesday that this investigation is still active and progressing.
Bal, who was arrested in Ontario, faces charges of conspiracy to kill a government witness, conspiracy to export cocaine, and several other counts as part of a broader U.S. operation targeting Wedding’s alleged international drug trafficking organization. Wedding himself remains a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. It is important to note that all individuals mentioned in the indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.