The Indian national was on a work permit in Canada when he started hauling loads of drugs, allegedly for a Mafia-linked Montrealer, Mexican cartels and American narcos
An Ontario truck driver who shuttled cocaine and heroin into Canada for a high-volume drug ring has quietly waived his extradition and struck a plea deal in California, all while most of his co-accused are still fighting extradition from Canada or are fugitives in Mexico.
The Indian national was on a work permit in Canada when he started hauling loads of drugs, allegedly for a Mafia-linked Montrealer, Mexican cartels and American narcos.
Ayush Sharma, 25, was caught red-handed delivering 19 kilos of drugs to a garage in Montreal, a victim of an elaborate undercover operation.
The smuggling ring moved large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin from Mexico to Los Angeles and then into Canada aboard transport trucks, with one branch feeding Ontario and another Quebec.
When the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled “Operation Dead Hand” in Los Angeles in January, there were 15 people named in two indictments, including five living in Canada.
Sharma was one of them. A Brampton-based commercial truck driver, he was the youngest of those arrested. He faced extradition to the United States for a trial in California.
At a bail hearing in Brampton in February, court weighed allegations by U.S. prosecutors, including that Sharma had made previous drug smuggling trips on behalf of the narcos.
His plea for bail was rejected by Justice David E. Harris. Although Sharma has no previous criminal record, he also has few ties to Canada. He is not a Canadian citizen nor permanent resident.
“The organization that Mr. Sharma allegedly worked for is far-flung and appears to be powerful and with substantial funds at its disposal. He is alleged — albeit without much in the way of specific evidence — to have imported drugs previously on behalf of the organization. Based on the present transaction and on the theory that he has completed other similar transactions, he likely has a good store of funds secreted away,” Harris said when denying Sharma’s bail.
With his bail denied, Sharma waived extradition on March 11, and was transferred to the United States on March 27. He was held in custody by U.S. Marshals pending a court appearance, held on April 3, which took less than five minutes. Judge Charles Eick refused his release saying someone facing a stiff drug sentence is presumed a flight risk and danger to the community.
Sharma, though, had no plans to flee.
He wanted his case dealt with as soon as possible. One month later, on Sept. 3, Sharma scrawled his signature on a 19-page plea agreement with the government.
He agreed to plead guilty to one of four counts he faced in the indictment that was filed against ten people. He has an imposing list of co-accused, including Roberto Scoppa, the brother of two leaders of the Montreal Mafia, Jesus Ruiz Sandoval, an American narco living in a house filled with guns, and Eduardo Carvajal, an alleged Mexican cartel leader known as “Primo.”
Sharma’s guilty plea was accepted on Sept. 27.