Deepak Paradkar, a Toronto lawyer, faces a chilling wait until December 23rd to discover if he will remain incarcerated, awaiting extradition to the United States. There, he stands accused of involvement in a vast cocaine trafficking operation and a conspiracy that allegedly reached the point of ordering murder.
The three-day bail hearing concluded with Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden reserving his decision, sending Paradkar, 62, back to the Toronto East Detention Centre. Conditions within the jail have reportedly been a source of complaint for the once-prominent criminal defender.
American investigators paint a disturbing picture of Paradkar as a key figure in an international drug network, directly linked to Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who allegedly transformed into a global drug kingpin. The accusations center around two alleged murders orchestrated by Wedding.
A confidential informant claims Paradkar advised Wedding to eliminate an FBI witness in Colombia. Further, text messages recovered from the phone of Andrew Clark, Wedding’s second-in-command, suggest Paradkar was part of a conversation discussing the execution of drug couriers arrested in Arkansas.
Federal Crown attorney Heather Graham asserted the evidence against Paradkar is “very strong.” The October 2024 texts, exchanged on the encrypted Threema messaging service within a chat labeled “911 Arkansas,” detail concerns about arrested couriers potentially cooperating with law enforcement.
Paradkar allegedly reassured the group, stating he was “on it” and had already located one of the drivers. When Clark and another associate discussed killing both couriers, Paradkar purportedly instructed them to delete the incriminating conversation and establish a separate, private channel for legal discussions.
While the judge questioned whether simply advising the deletion of evidence equated to involvement in a murder plot, Graham forcefully argued that the act itself was damning. “Isn’t it enough that he was captured in a conversation where he is telling co-conspirators to delete incriminating evidence about the conversation to kill somebody?” she pressed.
Despite the gravity of the allegations, Justice Bawden appeared skeptical of the Crown’s claim that Paradkar posed a flight risk. He reasoned that fleeing would mean abandoning a fulfilling life, deeply rooted in Canada, with a devoted family and precarious health.
Graham countered that attending court in the U.S. carried an even greater risk – a potential life sentence in an American prison. She also dismissed Paradkar’s health concerns, suggesting access to Wedding’s extensive resources could mitigate any medical needs, rendering his Ontario health card irrelevant.
A more pressing concern, Graham argued, was Paradkar’s safety should he be released. She warned that the organization had a history of silencing those who threatened its operations, placing Paradkar’s life in immediate danger if he were perceived as a potential cooperator.
In her closing argument, Graham emphasized the public outrage that would likely follow Paradkar’s release pending extradition, given the “really offensive conduct” alleged against him. The accusations include directly counseling the murder of a witness, a killing carried out in a brazen, public execution.
The case hinges on the interpretation of digital evidence and the credibility of informants, painting a dark portrait of a lawyer allegedly entangled in a world of international drug trafficking and ruthless violence. The coming days will determine whether Paradkar faces justice in Canada or extradition to the United States.
