Alleged drug smuggler for Canadian ex-Olympian could flee if granted bail, prosecutors say

U.S. prosecutors are warning that a Toronto-area man accused of co-ordinating millions of dollars' worth of cocaine shipments — on behalf of a murderous drug ring allegedly run by former Olympian Ryan Wedding — has access to a criminal network in Dubai and could flee if he's released on bail.

Hardeep Ratte appeared in a Toronto courtroom on Monday as he seeks bail while awaiting U.S. extradition proceedings. He's facing drug trafficking charges in California, amid allegations he acted as Wedding's main co-ordinator for smuggling cocaine shipments from Los Angeles to Canada.

Ratte, who is from Brampton, Ont., was arrested in October as U.S. authorities named 10 Canadians sought as accomplices in what prosecutors described as Wedding's transnational criminal enterprise. The group allegedly used transport trucks to move vast quantities of Colombian cocaine through North America.

Wedding, who competed for Team Canada as a snowboarder at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, remains on the run. Investigators have linked his alleged $1-billion US crime ring to four murders in southern Ontario, including the mistaken-identity shootings of an Indian couple.

Ratte, 46, wore a grey Roots Canada T-shirt in the prisoner box on Monday morning and waved at family members seated near the back of the courtroom. Six of his relatives each pledged $200,000 for Ratte to be granted bail and released on house arrest as he awaits his extradition hearing.

According to a letter from U.S. prosecutors entered as an exhibit in Ontario Superior Court, authorities believe Ratte "presents a substantial risk of flight" if released from custody. He faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted in the U.S.

Ratte's nephew Gurpreet Singh is among three other associates detained in Ontario and wanted by U.S. prosecutors to stand trial in California. 

"Through his nephew," U.S. prosecutors wrote, "Ratte has access to a sophisticated organized crime network in Dubai from whom he could easily seek protection if charged in this case, but not detained." 

Prosecutors allege that between January and August 2024, Ratte orchestrated shipments of more than 650 kilograms of cocaine for Wedding's network, with a street value in Los Angeles of between $8.45 million and $9.1 million US. Authorities said Ratte was found to have made frequent trips to Mexico, where investigators suspect Wedding may be hiding.

"Ratte's criminal conduct…. makes him a danger to the community," wrote Los Angeles-based assistant U.S. attorneys Maria Jhai and Lyndsi Allsop.

According to court filings, RCMP recorded a meeting in Toronto on Feb. 22, 2024, involving Ratte, his nephew Singh and a co-operating witness who was in direct contact with Wedding and his "second-in-command," Andrew Clark. U.S. prosecutors allege that at the February meeting, Ratte agreed to move cocaine for Wedding at a rate of $220,000 Cdn per shipment.

Ratte's lawyer Ravin Pillay underlined his client is presumed innocent and questioned whether the video of the in-person meeting would be clear enough to identify Ratte. 

"There's nothing before you to suggest he will flee," Pillay told Superior Court Justice Michael Dineed at a hearing earlier this month. "The risk of flight is purely speculative."

Ratte's bail hearing is scheduled to resume on Wednesday.