Drug trafficking suspects sought by U.S. may seek trial in Canada instead

Three men facing extradition to the United States over their alleged involvement in transnational drug trafficking may seek to be tried in Canada, but the British Columbia Supreme Court says the prospect is “speculative at this point.”

Gurtej Smagh, Jaskarn Baghri, and Ravinder Dhanda were arrested last month in B.C. and are being pursued by American authorities for their alleged involvement in cross-border drug trafficking.

The CBC successfully applied to lift a publication ban on evidence presented at the men’s bail hearings, which their lawyers had argued could jeopardize a fair trial in the United States.

The ruling says the men also claimed media coverage about their case has created a “false impression” that they were connected to India’s Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

Justice Elizabeth McDonald rejected the idea that publication of information at their bail hearings would pose a risk to a fair trial in the United States, saying the jury screening process would be more effective than maintaining a broad publication ban in Canada.

The ruling added the men had claimed some or all of them could request a trial instead, and had argued “there is potential for prejudice to such a trial if the publication ban is not granted.”

“In my view, the prospect of the (accused) facing prosecution in Canada instead of the United States is speculative at this point,” McDonald wrote.

The bail hearing applications have yet to be heard in court, but the judge agreed to keep secret the information about the men’s sureties — those putting up money to have them released on bail — citing a “potential risk of serious harm to innocent parties.”

The U.S. Justice Department announced last month the arrests of 24 suspects around the world, including Smagh, Dhanda and Baghri, in what it called “Operation Hard Ball” in collaboration with the RCMP.

American authorities linked the arrests to India-based criminal groups whose alleged crimes include the high-profile assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023.

The killing was attributed to the Bishnoi gang, now a terrorist entity in Canada, but Smagh, Dhanda and Baghri were charged under a separate indictment for allegedly smuggling cocaine and methamphetamine into Canada from the U.S.

That indictment accuses Dhanda of operating a drug distribution network that concealed and transported the drugs on long-haul semi-trucks, as well as farm trucks from working farms, from the greater Los Angeles area to the U.S.-Canada border.

Eight other defendants were charged under the eight-count indictment.

—With additional files from Global News