Brian Da Costa, an alleged drug trafficker accused of bribing Toronto police officers and leaking computer data later used in organized crime intimidation campaigns, was granted bail on Wednesday.The Globe and Mail
A central figure in the Project South police corruption probe has been linked in court documents to an alleged accomplice of accused cocaine kingpin Ryan Wedding, connecting for the first time the two sprawling investigations into organized crime in Canada.
Brian Da Costa, an alleged drug trafficker accused of bribing Toronto police officers and leaking computer data later used in organized crime intimidation campaigns, has been ordered not to contact Gurpreet Singh – a Toronto-area man who allegedly conspired to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into Canada for the Wedding network.
Mr. Da Costa was released Wednesday on the condition that he not contact more than 30 individuals, including Mr. Singh, according to the release order, signed by Justice of the Peace Anne Finn.
Mr. Singh, who is fighting extradition to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking charges, has been jailed at Toronto South Detention Centre since October, 2024.
In June of last year, a corrections officer at the jail was targeted in an alleged attempted hit at his home, sparking the police-corruption investigation known as Project South that has resulted in charges against seven Toronto police officers and a retired officer, as well as 19 civilians.
Mr. Da Costa faces some of the most serious allegations among the civilians charged in the case, including working with a police officer to pass along information that was later used in the alleged murder plot of the corrections officer. Mr. Da Costa’s lawyer declined a request for comment.
Lawyers for Mr. Singh did not respond to requests for comment. He has not been charged in connection with Project South. He does face charges in Los Angeles in relation to the investigation into the Wedding organization.
American officials allege that Mr. Wedding, a onetime snowboarder with the Canadian Olympic team, has ordered dozens of killings around the world, including some fatal shootings in Canada and others targeting innocent family members of his perceived enemies. Mr. Wedding was arrested in Mexico in January, and swiftly transported in a U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation plane to California, where he is now in custody.
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Mr. Singh and his uncle, Hardeep Ratte, allegedly ran the Wedding ring’s Canada-based drug transportation network, helping to ship hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Southern California to Canada in long-haul semi-trucks, U.S. authorities say. The allegations have not been tested in court. They are both in Toronto-area jails facing extradition to Los Angeles.
During a bail hearing in March, 2025, Mr. Singh detailed his alleged mistreatment at Toronto South after his October, 2024, arrest. He told the court his personal belongings including “religious books” had been damaged during a search of his cell.
“We are regularly getting searched. They wake us up maybe 5 [or] 6 in the morning, take us to the scanners, strip search us,” he told the court, according to official audio recording of the proceedings.
Mr. Singh said he had twice been denied access to his lawyers at the facility, and denied visits from friends and family on multiple occasions.
Mr. Singh also said he worked as a dump truck driver until 2019. He subsequently stopped working and moved in with his girlfriend, who covered his expenses, he told the court.
Mr. Singh said that in late 2023 and early 2024 he lived in a rental two-bedroom condo with a balcony. The unit was at downtown Toronto’s ritzy Shangri-La hotel and he told the court his girlfriend paid the $6,000-a-month rent. He told the court later that year he lived in a Bay Street condo attached to another luxury hotel.
Mr. Singh travelled extensively during this period including to the United Arab Emirates, Colombia and Mexico. In the summer of 2024, Mr. Singh was captured by Mexican cartel members in relation to an apparent unpaid drug debt and was held until $400,000 was paid on his behalf and after the alleged intervention of Mr. Wedding, court records in his case allege.
Both Project South and the Wedding investigation are probing suspects with ties to the long-haul trucking or tow-truck industries.
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Corporate records obtained by The Globe and Mail list Mr. Ratte as the director of several companies, including GTA Most Wanted Towing. Mr. Ratte is not named in Mr. Da Costa’s no-contact list, and has not been charged in relation to Project South. A lawyer for Mr. Ratte declined to comment.
Court materials in the Wedding case describe a co-operating witness meeting with Mr. Ratte and Mr. Singh at an autobody shop in Brampton, Ont., on Feb. 22, 2024, in an undercover operation managed by the RCMP.
York Regional Police announced the charges in its Project South probe in February. One of the civilians charged, Elwyn Satanowsky, has ties to the tow-truck industry, police said.
Deputy Police Chief Ryan Hogan alleged at the time that Mr. Da Costa, the civilian now connected in court documents to Mr. Singh, was a “key figure” in a “criminal network operating within the Greater Toronto Area with … significant international ties.”
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Investigators say Mr. Da Costa worked closely with Toronto Police Constable Timothy Barnhardt, alleging the two men gave confidential information about the corrections officer to hit men. The pair is also jointly charged with trafficking in stolen police uniforms, obstruction of justice and public mischief. York Regional Police have declined to say how they believe Mr. Da Costa met Constable Barnhardt.
Police also allege Mr. Da Costa led a plan to bribe officers to protect illegal cannabis dispensaries.
Mr. Da Costa was released on Wednesday on a $1.5-million bail plan. Three bail sureties have promised the court that he will be restricted to conditions akin to house arrest. Constable Barnhardt was denied bail last month.
The Globe last month reported that Mr. Da Costa was set to stand trial for cocaine trafficking three years ago, but the prosecution collapsed in early 2023 when the federal Crown stayed charges without providing a reason in court. The stay followed a defence application that argued the investigation could have violated Mr. Da Costa’s Charter rights.