Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2025

Fugitive Canadian Wolfpack Leader Robby Alkhalil Arrested in Qatar

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat
From a Vancouver Sun Article


More than three years after he escaped from a Port Coquitlam jail, fugitive gang killer Rabih "Robby" Alkhalil has been arrested in Qatar.

Several sources confirmed Saturday that the wanted Wolfpack gangster had been picked up by local authorities on Friday. The RCMP declined to comment. But a news conference is scheduled at the RCMP’s Surrey headquarters on Monday afternoon.

A $250,000 reward for information leading to Alkhalil’s arrest was initially offered by the BOLO program and Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, over the years it was reduced to $50,000 and was due to expire Oct. 7.

According to an undercover informant, Rabih Alkhalil was responsible for cocaine imports with in the Wolfpack group. An alliance of street gang members and Hells Angels traffickers. Alkhalil's nicknames within the organization were Honda and Lambo (for Lamborghini).

Monday, July 21, 2025

Undercover DEA Operation Takes Down Canadian Brothers Keeper Gang Leader Linked to Sinaloa & Kinahan Cartels

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


DEA announced it has largely dismantled a Canada based international drug cartel and arrested a notorious Indo-Canadian gangster, Opinder Singh Sian, better known as "Thanos," for running a global fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking ring from British Columbia, Canada.

Sian was arrested in Arizona on June 27 after his role in smuggling methamphetamine to Australia and chemicals for fentanyl production into the US via Canada. Much of the case focuses on methamphetamine shipments from Los Angeles to Australia, orchestrated by Sian, who acted as a proxy for transnational Mexican, Chinese, and Iranian networks, experts say.

The investigation which began in 2022, has revealed that Sian had operational ties with chemical suppliers linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Montreal Mafia & Hells Angels Figures Arrested as Part of Large Takedown Linked to Cooperating Hitman

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat
Translated from a La Presse Article


Three years, almost to the day, after former organized crime hitman Frédérick Silva turned his back on the Mafia and began cooperating with Canadian authorities, they have been making their first arrests early Thursday morning targeting the leaders of the Sicilian clan of the Montreal Mafia as well as Hells Angels and gang members.

Silva, who will receive a record sum of over $3 million dollars in exchange for his confessions and testimony, as we first revealed last winter, would allow them to solve some 60 murder plots over a period of more than two decades in Quebec organized crime.

"This is one of the hardest blows to organized crime," said Benoit Dubé, Deputy Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Sûreté du Québec, at a press conference Thursday morning announcing the operation dubbed Project Alliance.

Monday, April 28, 2025

Montreal Mafia and Hells Angels Reach Peace Agreement After Years Long War in Canada

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat
From a La Presse Article


Opposed in a bloody conflict not so long ago, the Sicilian clan of the Montreal Mafia and a group of Montreal Hells Angels led by Martin Robert have reportedly decided to make peace in recent months, in the face of the rise of emerging groups that threaten their hegemony.

"Currently, we see that there is indeed a potential truce between certain criminal groups, including the Hells Angels and the Italian mafia," says Francis Renaud, commander of the Organized Crime Division (Antigang) of the Montreal Police Service (SPVM).

In 2023, Montreal Hells Angels and the Rizzuto clan clashed over control of illegal sports betting, better known as "The Book," according to a police theory.

Friday, March 28, 2025

Canada’s Most Wanted Fugitive, Blood Family Mafia Gang Leader Dave ‘Pik’ Turmel Arrested in Italy

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


Canada's most wanted fugitive, Dave "Pik" Turmel, has been arrested in Italy, according to Italian police sources.

The 28-year-old, who had been on the run for over a year, is believed to be the leader of the Blood Family Mafia (BFM).

The notorious street gang is involved in brutal turf wars with the Hells Angels in Quebec during which victims have been tortured and have had their limbs amputated.

In a news release issued Friday in response to CBC News inquiries, Rome District Police announced they arrested the head of "a notorious criminal organization." Turmel was not named in the release, but in a call with CBC News, police confirmed the individual arrested was indeed Turmel.

Monday, March 10, 2025

"Give Me the Easiest One First." A Young US-Canadian Hitman Received "Military Training" in Mexico to Do Wedding's Dirty Work

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat


A small-time Toronto criminal was recruited by cartel figures, flown to Mexico for “military training,” and then sent to target a hit list of enemies of a cross-border drug ring led by a fugitive ex-Olympic snowboarder, a new set of FBI documents claim.

According to authorities, it "all came to light by chance when a local Ontario police force conducted a traffic stop and seized a single white iPhone."

The documents, being presented in a Toronto court, offer the clearest picture yet of the U.S. investigation into a murderous drug-trafficking organization allegedly run by former Canadian Olympian Ryan James Wedding and his second-in-command, Andrew Clark who is now in U.S. custody following his recent arrest in Mexico and extradition.

Olympic Snowboarder Ryan James Wedding Added to FBI 10 Most Wanted List with $10 Million Reward After Key FBI Informant Killed

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat


The United States Department of State's Narcotics Rewards Program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ryan James Wedding.

Ryan James Wedding is wanted for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and other locations in the United States.

The decision for the US to increase the reward from the FBI's initial $50,000 reward comes just days after one of Wedding’s right-hand men was linked to the Kinahan Cartel in documents filed by US attorneys in a Canadian court. 

Also revealed in Canada was that Wedding helped negotiate the release of a fellow Canadian trafficker who owed a drug debt to the Sinaloa Cartel and that a key FBI informant and likely the witness to testify against Wedding was killed in Colombia at the end of January.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Canada Designates Cartel Groups as Terrorists, Except for CDN/Los Zetas

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat



Canada has listed seven transnational criminal organizations as terrorist entities, the public safety minister said on Thursday.

The list includes Mara Salvatrucha, Cartel de Sinaloa and Tren de Aragua.

The announcement comes a day after the United States designated Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and other drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Canadian Trade Tariffs Delayed Following Agreement to Tighten Border Security & Fight Fentanyl Trafficking

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


In the days following an agreement to stay tariffs on imported goods from Mexico. A similar agreement between Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump was reached. In both instances, the 25% tariffs are paused for 30 days in exchange for the countries increasing border security and like with Mexico, battling fentanyl and organized crime.

Friday, January 24, 2025

Record Cocaine Seizure in Toronto, Canada Tied to CJNG & Outlaws MC

“Socalj” for Borderland Beat


A five-month investigation in Canada has resulted in the largest cocaine seizure in Toronto Police Service’s history. Over 835 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $83 million was seized during Project Castillo that started in August 2024.

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Fugitive Canadian Hells Angels Trafficker Gunned Down in Mexican Resort Town

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


Just over a year since the high-profile public gym killing of Canadian Hells Angels linked trafficker Samy Tamouro by CJNG gunmen (followed a week later by the suicide death of his girlfriend in Mexico). Another Canadian fugitive, wanted since April 2022, was gunned down in Playa del Carmen.

The Canadian man shot to death in a Playa del Carmen parking lot has been identified as 39 year old Mathieu Bélanger from Quebec. According to local information, he was living in Playa del Carmen with his girlfriend using false Mexican documents. The pair have been tied to a Canadian Hells Angels group supplying drugs to the greater Montreal, Quebec area.

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Ken Salazar Admits U.S. Is “Part Of The Problem” Of Drug Use And Arms Trafficking

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This information was posted from PROCESO 

Leaving behind the scolding tone of last November 13, to which the Mexican government responded through a diplomatic note, Salazar echoed the letter that President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo sent to President-elect Donald Trump in response to his threat to impose tariffs.

WRITTEN BY: MATHIEU TOURLINE


MEXICO CITY (apro).- After the outspoken complaint regarding Mexico's security policy that he expressed two weeks ago, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, acknowledged today that drug consumption and arms trafficking from his country are “part of the problem”, which is why the governments on both sides of the border must address it “as partners”.

Leaving behind the scolding tone of last November 13, to which the Mexican government responded through a diplomatic note, Salazar echoed the letter that President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo sent to President-elect Donald Trump in response to his threat to impose tariffs when he takes office on January 20; the diplomat also qualified his criticism of the security strategy, stating that he said them “with great hope” that “the program that President Sheinbaum is developing” will work.

In a press conference held at the residence of the US Embassy, Salazar insisted on his agreement with the governments of Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on migration issues, and emphasized that his government --that of Joe Biden-- continues to be committed to North America as a free trade zone.


Salazar repeated that Joe Biden's administration is “aligned” with the plans to invest in development projects in the South and Southeast of Mexico -he explicitly referred to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec-, as well as in the regions of origin of migrants, to address the roots of migration, and celebrated that he worked “very closely” with López Obrador on migration issues.


The diplomat, who stated two weeks ago that the strategy of “hugs not bullets” had failed, boasted that thanks to the joint work of both governments, the number of irregular migrant crossings between both countries fell by 65% to 75%.


SOURCE: PROCESO 

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

'The Dead By Crime To Meet The Demand For Drugs In The U.S., We Put Them': Sheinbaum To Trump

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This information was posted from LOS NOTICIERISTAS

WRITTEN BY: TERY PEREZ 

11/26/2024


Mexico City - To kick off the 'morning' conference this Tuesday, November 26, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo read a letter to be sent this day to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in response to his announcement to impose tariffs.

“I am writing to you, following your statement on Monday, November 25, on migration, fentanyl trafficking and tariffs,” the letter begins.


The federal president informs you 'in case you are not aware' that the Mexican government is developing a comprehensive policy of attention to migrants, and thanks to this, the migratory flow has been reduced by 75 percent between December 2023 and November 2024, according to CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol) figures.


“By the way, half of those who arrive, it is through an appointment legally granted by the U.S. program called CBP One. For these reasons, caravans of migrants no longer arrive at the border. Even so, it is clear that we must arrive together at another model of labor mobility that is necessary for your country and of attention to the causes that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity,” reads the letter.


Sheinbaum proposes that if a percentage of what the United States allocates to wars were directed to peace building and development, “the mobility of people” would be addressed.


“On the other hand, and for humanitarian reasons, we have always expressed Mexico's willingness to prevent the fentanyl epidemic from continuing in the United States, which is a problem of consumption and public health in your country's society,” she said.


The president informed Trump that in this year 2024, the Armed Forces of our country, as well as the Prosecutor's Offices, have seized tons of various narcotics, 10,340 weapons and have arrested 15,640 people linked to violence related to drug trafficking.


He also explains that a constitutional reform is in the legislative process to qualify as a serious crime, without the right to bail, the elaboration, distribution and commercialization of fentanyl, among other synthetic drugs.


“However, it is publicly known that chemical precursors for the manufacture of this and other synthetic drugs enter Canada, the United States and Mexico illegally from Asian countries, for which international collaboration is urgently needed”, she clarified.


The chief executive reminded Trump that most of the illegal weapons entering Mexico come from the United States.


“Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country. We do not produce the weapons, we do not produce the synthetic drugs, we do not consume them. Those killed by crime to respond to the demand for drugs in your country, unfortunately we put them,” She sentences.


“President Trump, it is not with threats or tariffs that the migratory phenomenon or drug consumption in the United States will be addressed,” She emphasizes.


She considers 'cooperation and reciprocal understanding' necessary to face these challenges.


“One tariff will be followed by another in response, and so on, until we put common enterprises at risk. Yes, common. For example, Mexico's main exporters to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motors Company, which came to Mexico 80 years ago. Why put them at risk with a tax? It is not acceptable and would cause the United States and Mexico inflation and job losses,” She said.


Sheinbaum Pardo said she was convinced that the strength of North America, is the maintenance of the commercial partnership, to remain competitive compared to other economic blocs.


“I believe that dialogue is the best way for understanding, peace and prosperity in our nations, I hope our teams can meet soon,” the letter states.




SHEIMBAUM MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE 




Sunday, November 10, 2024

Record Biggest Lab Seizure Near Vancouver, Canada, CJNG Cartel Member Arrested in India Meth Lab

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


A specialized RCMP unit has taken down the largest drug lab ever found in Canada, seizing record amounts of drugs, precursor chemicals and firearms. Of particular concern were tons of precursor chemicals used to make crystal meth using the Mexican cartel P2P formula which “has not been seen in Western Canada until now,” according to Canadian authorities.

By definition, the drug trafficking trade has been global in nature, but truly has expanded over the last few years with multi-national organized crime groups recruiting and working together in various parts of the manufacturing, smuggling and financing side of the global drug trade.

The bust of the Canadian Super Lab used for mass drug production, along with the arrest of suspect Gaganpreet Randhawa, has underscored the vast reach of drug networks in Canada and the extensive criminal infrastructure supporting drug manufacturing and distribution. In a separate incident, a Mexican CJNG member was arrested during a raid in a New Dehli, India meth lab raid.

India sits only below China in the amount of illicit production and exportation of mass quantities of precursor chemicals for manufacturing meth, fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.

Monday, October 21, 2024

Olympic Snowboarder, Nightclub Owner Among Those Charged with Trafficking Cocaine from Mexico to Canada

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


A manhunt is on for former Olympian Ryan James Wedding, 43, and the FBI is offering $50,000 for information leading to his arrest. His drug trafficking partner, Canadian Andrew Clark was arrested in Mexico on an Interpol warrant two weeks ago. Wedding is also believed to have been residing in Mexico and is considered armed and dangerous by US authorities.

As part of the takedown of the drug trafficking network, raids were conducted at a $15 million mansion in Miami, Florida, formerly owned by DJ Khaled and currently resided by Nahim Jorge Bonilla, a music business exec and co-owner of local nightclub and restaurant Mandrake. Bonilla was arrested at the mansion.

Wedding and Clark are also being charged with the mistaken identity murder of an Indian Sikh couple visiting their children in Canada and two other murders related to drug trafficking tons of cocaine from Mexico, into California and then placed on long haul trucks to Canada.

Friday, September 27, 2024

Canadian Authorities Drop Charges in Large Cartel Connected Trafficking Network

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


In the midst of secret federal court proceedings and on the eve of a defence application to drop all charges, the Crown terminated the prosecution of five people accused of running a massive, cross-border drug trafficking operation involving Mexican cartels.

At the time charges were announced, police said it was believed the $55-million drug bust involving nearly 1 ton of methamphetamine and 6 kilograms of cocaine was the largest ever in Alberta.

With three sets of stays issued last week, last April and in 2023, 10 of the 15 people originally charged in the investigation dubbed Project Cobra are no longer before the courts.

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

AMLO Announces “Pause” In Relationship With U.S. And Canadian Ambassadors

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was translated and reposted from PROCESO 

The decision escalated to the refusal to engage in a dialogue requested by the U.S. diplomat, Ken Salazar, after speaking of the risks involved in the popular election of judges, magistrates and ministers, included in the reform of the Judiciary. 


WRITTEN BY: DALIA ESCOBAR
AUGUST 27, 2024 


MEXICO CITY (apro).- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador decreed a pause in the dialogue with the embassies of the United States and Canada in Mexico until they clarify that there must be respect in the decisions that correspond to Mexicans because it is in their Constitution. 

The decision followed the refusal to engage in a dialogue requested by the U.S. diplomat, Ken Salazar, after talking about the risks involved in the popular election of judges, magistrates and ministers, included in the reform of the Judicial Power. 

“That there be a clarification from them, however, that they express that in the matter of the Constitution of our government, in the application of our democracy, in the decisions taken by our legitimately constituted legal government, they have to be respectful”, he indicated.

He clarified that the relationship with both countries continues and that the pause only applies at embassy level, in spite of the fact that since previous days he assured that “it is not Ken Salazar”, but that the U.S. State Department is behind it. 

The relationship with Salazar “is still good, but it is in pause since he declared that. Pausing means that we are going to give ourselves our time, because hopefully the State Department, because it is not him either, what a coincidence that at the same time that they make a statement in Mexico through the embassy, the Canadians do it, which is also a shame for the government of Canada, it seems like an associated state, together”.

He considered that the attitude of the officials of both countries is because “they would like to interfere in matters that only correspond to Mexicans. It is from the State Department, the letter is from him (Ken Salazar), the relationship continues, but hopefully there is a ratification from them that they are going to respect Mexico's independence, the sovereignty of our country, as long as there is not that and they continue with that policy, there is a pause with the embassies”. 

Specifically, he said that also with Canada, “yes, of course they have to learn to respect Mexico's sovereignty, it is not just any old thing. We are not going to give them advice there, not to say what is right and what is wrong. We want them to be respected and for there to be a reciprocal relationship in terms of respect”. 

Again, he clarified that the pause is in the dialogue with Ambassador Salazar and not with the Biden administration because “it is only that they understand that it was imprudent to manifest themselves as they did”. 

Of the ambassador he recognized that “he is looking for us to talk. Imagine that he comes here -and I stress this is not a personal matter- he comes here, he is received by the President of Mexico, he is not Andrés Manuel, it is the investiture and suddenly he comes out to say 'I came to give you my opinion that the people of Mexico should not elect judges, magistrates, ministers because that is undemocratic, it complicates things even more', what a shame, now, as the philosopher would say: 'what a necessity', we better wait for time to pass”. 

“If there is no respect, as long as I am here, we will not allow any violation of our sovereignty. I am going to leave, there are already 30 days left, but as long as I am here I cannot allow our Constitution to be violated,” he added. 

President López Obrador considered that President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will maintain this position because “any government has to defend the sovereignty of its people, besides, these are our things. What is more, the president-elect already said it and she said it well: 'Dialogue yes, but there are things that only concern our country”.

If we continue to allow foreigners to give their opinion on Mexican law processes, said the president, it is like allowing officials from any other country to do the same. 

At the beginning of these statements, the President said: “How can we allow the ambassador -with all due respect, this is not a matter of quarrel or enmity-, to give his opinion that what we are doing is wrong, but we are not going to tell him to leave the country, no, but we do have to read the Constitution to him, which is like reading him the card”.