Deepak Paradkar is facing extradition to the U.S. along with seven other Canadians arrested last year, all of whom are alleged to have worked for or helped accused drug trafficker Ryan Wedding.Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press
Canada’s Department of Justice wants bail revoked for the Toronto-area lawyer fighting extradition to the United States on allegations he used his professional network and expertise to protect accused drug trafficker Ryan Wedding’s lucrative grip on the cocaine trade through California up into this country.
An Ontario Superior Court justice committed serious errors and “materially misapprehended and failed to consider relevant evidence” when he granted bail to Deepak Balwant Paradkar, 62, just before Christmas, according to a new document filed by the federal Crown in the Court of Appeal of Ontario on Wednesday.
“Paradkar was paid millions of dollars for egregiously abusing his position as a licensed lawyer in Ontario to further the [drug trafficking] criminal enterprise, which included monitoring and deterring cooperation with law enforcement; introducing Wedding to trusted drug transport networks; and counselling [the drug trafficking organization] leadership to murder a witness to evade prosecution in the USA,” the filing from federal Crown attorney Heather Graham states.
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Mr. Paradkar is facing extradition along with seven other Canadians arrested last year, all of whom are alleged to have worked for or helped Mr. Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who was arrested in Mexico last month on charges of murder conspiracy and drug trafficking, and transported to the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges Mr. Paradkar committed drug trafficking, conspiracy to tamper with a witness and was part of a conspiracy to murder an FBI witness in Colombia when he told Mr. Wedding that if the witness was eliminated, he could escape criminal charges. That witness, who was born in Montreal, was gunned down in a Medellin café last January.
The Crown argues Ontario Justice Peter Bawden failed to properly scrutinize Mr. Paradkar’s wife as his surety, when he granted Mr. Paradkar bail. The Crown said in its filing that Justice Bawden ignored the significance of her “embedded role” as an accountant and paralegal at her husband’s practice and the “obvious implications of the family’s conspicuous and unexplained wealth.”
The filing argues that Mr. Paradkar must return to jail because his bail has jeopardized public confidence in the administration of justice, threatens public safety and hurts Canada’s ability to meet its international extradition obligations.
None of these allegations have been proven in court and prosecutors are asking for a hearing into their application in early March.
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Ravin Pillay, Mr. Paradkar’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the federal Crown’s application Thursday. In the past, he has stated his client intends to defend himself against the charges.
Justice Bawden said his decision to grant Mr. Paradkar bail was not a reflection of the overall case for extradition, which he said was strong, noting the long-time criminal lawyer is alleged to have been living a double life by working as a “senior operative within a violent transnational drug trafficking organization.”
However, the judge also ruled that Mr. Paradkar’s life could be in jeopardy if he continued to be held in jail.
The lawyer has diabetes and cardiac conditions, the judge said, and he could be at further risk owing to the Wedding organization’s reputation for allegedly unleashing violence against suspected members who get caught.
Ms. Graham, the prosecutor applying to revoke Mr. Paradkar’s bail, works for Justice Canada’s International Assistance Group and is due in court before Justice Bawden on Friday on a bail ruling for another of the Wedding network’s alleged money launderers.
Rolan Sokolovski, a 37-year-old poker player turned jeweller, faces a potential extradition to Los Angeles for allegedly laundering tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency for Mr. Wedding’s organization.