Los Angeles [US], March 27 (ANI): A Canadian national who led a group that trafficked more than 850 kilograms of drugs worth USD 17 million from the United States into Canada pleaded guilty on Thursday (local time), the FBI in Los Angeles said.

In an official statement by the Department of Justice, it was noted, 'Guramrit Sidhu, 62, of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.'

The statement said that Sidhu is the lead defendant in a 23-count January 2024 federal indictment targeting a drug trafficking organisation. He has been in federal custody since October 2024 after being extradited from Canada.

Referring to his plea agreement, the press statement noted that from September 2020 to February 2023, Sidhu led an organisation responsible for trafficking drugs from the U.S. into Canada for distribution.

It further said that from September 13, 2022, to October 24, 2022, Sidhu orchestrated the distribution of eight separate drug loads, totalling approximately 523 kilograms (1,153 pounds) of methamphetamine and 347 kilograms (765 pounds) of cocaine, which law enforcement seized. These drug loads had an estimated wholesale value of approximately $15 million to $17 million.

'After buying the bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine in the U.S., Sidhu arranged for the narcotics' transportation into Canada via long-haul semi-trucks for further distribution. Sidhu provided telephone numbers and serial numbers on bills of currency for couriers to use as a 'token' for identification purposes during the delivery and transportation of the cocaine and methamphetamine,' the statement added.

It said that Sidhu and co-conspirators then retrieved the cocaine and methamphetamine from locations within Canada for further distribution.

The statement noted that Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Larocque of the Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case and United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt scheduled a July 9 sentencing hearing, at which time Sidhu would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

As per the statement, Sidhu is the seventh defendant to plead guilty in this matter. Several other defendants have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in this case and have been sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 27 months to 108 months.

It highlighted that the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, United States Customs and Border Protection, and law enforcement authorities in Mexico investigated this matter, with significant assistance provided by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked with the Canadian authorities to secure the arrest and October 2024 extradition of Sidhu, it further observed.

https://x.com/FBILosAngeles/status/2037279469648400441?s=20

The move comes as the US continues to crack down on drug trafficking into the country. (ANI)