Executive Summary
- Prominent Brampton lawyer Deepak Paradkar has been arrested and faces extradition to the United States.
- He is accused of advising fugitive and alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding to murder an FBI witness to avoid extradition.
- The arrest is part of a larger operation targeting Wedding’s international drug trafficking enterprise, which saw seven Canadians detained.
- Paradkar has a history of involvement in high-profile cases, including a past connection to serial killer Dellen Millard.
Deepak Paradkar, a prominent criminal defense lawyer from Brampton, Ontario, has been arrested and is facing extradition to the United States on charges linking him to an international drug trafficking enterprise. U.S. authorities allege Paradkar advised an accused drug lord, Ryan Wedding, to murder a witness for the FBI. The arrest, confirmed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at a news conference, is part of a broader investigation into Wedding’s criminal organization that resulted in the arrest of seven Canadians.
According to a U.S. federal indictment unsealed in the Central District of California, Paradkar is accused of counseling Wedding and his associate, Andrew Clark, to kill an FBI witness to prevent extradition in a separate case. The indictment notes that the witness was subsequently murdered in Medellin, Colombia, in January of this year. The document also refers to Paradkar by a former social media handle, “cocaine_lawyer,” and alleges he provided Wedding’s associates with sensitive court documents.
Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, is currently one of the FBI’s 10 most-wanted fugitives. He is accused of running a massive cocaine smuggling ring and offering a multi-million-dollar bounty for the witness’s death. RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme confirmed the arrests in Canada and stated that the individuals face charges including conspiracy to commit murder and drug trafficking.
Paradkar is a well-known figure in Ontario’s legal circles, having been involved in several high-profile cases. He was once slated to represent serial killer Dellen Millard before abruptly withdrawing from the case. Court documents later revealed Paradkar was linked to the smuggling of letters Millard sent from jail, though he was never charged. His past social media activity, including an Instagram handle “@cocaine_lawyer,” also drew scrutiny from the Law Society of Ontario in 2017.
The legal community has expressed shock over the allegations. Boris Bytensky, president of Ontario’s Criminal Lawyers’ Association, described the situation as highly unusual and emphasized that criminal lawyers are not extensions of their clients. He urged the public to avoid a rush to judgment. It is important to note that all individuals named in the indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.