A Canadian national has been sentenced to 20 years in a United States federal prison for leading a transnational drug trafficking organisation that smuggled hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine from the United States into Canada.
Guramrit Sidhu, 63, of Brampton, Ontario, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt after pleading guilty in March 2026 to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. He has remained in federal custody since his extradition from Canada in October 2024.
According to the US Department of Justice, Sidhu led a criminal organisation responsible for trafficking large quantities of illicit drugs from the United States into Canada between September 2020 and February 2023.
Court documents revealed that in just over one month—from 13 September to 24 October 2022—Sidhu orchestrated the transportation of eight separate drug shipments containing approximately 523 kilograms of methamphetamine and 347 kilograms of cocaine. Authorities intercepted and seized all eight shipments before they reached the Canadian market.
The seized narcotics had an estimated wholesale value of between US$15 million and US$17 million.
Investigators said Sidhu purchased bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine in the United States before arranging for the drugs to be concealed in long-haul semi-trucks and transported across the border into Canada for distribution.
To coordinate deliveries, Sidhu allegedly provided couriers with specific telephone numbers and serial numbers from banknotes, which were used as identification tokens during exchanges. Once the shipments crossed into Canada, Sidhu and his associates retrieved the drugs for further distribution.
Sidhu is the eighth defendant to plead guilty in the wider investigation. Several co-conspirators have already been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 27 months to nine years.
The investigation was led by the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), United States Customs and Border Protection, and law enforcement authorities in Mexico. Homeland Security Investigations and the US Drug Enforcement Administration also provided significant assistance.
The US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs worked with Canadian authorities to secure Sidhu’s arrest and extradition to the United States in October 2024.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Larocque of the Transnational Organized Crime Section.
US authorities said the case forms part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, which targets transnational criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking, organised crime, human smuggling and other cross-border offences.
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