Deepak Paradkar has suspected links to the Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged cocaine kingpin
An attorney with suspected links to the Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged cocaine kingpin, Ryan Wedding, is “a substantial flight risk”, a court in Toronto has heard.
 
Deepak Paradkar appeared in court this week for a bail hearing after he was arrested and charged last month for his reported involvement with the on-the-run fugitive.
 
Described by FBI director Kash Patel as a “modern-day Pablo Escobar”, Wedding is facing several murder and drug charges stemming from his alleged drug empire that stretches across the Americas.
 
The 62-year-old Paradkar was arrested in Canada under the Extradition Act.
 
He is accused by American authorities of advising Wedding to murder a key witness so that Wedding and Andrew Clark, his reported second-in-command, would avoid extradition from Mexico on 2024 criminal charges against them.

Paradkar, who the Americans say uses several aliases, including the “cocaine lawyer,” is accused of providing Wedding with court documents and evidence from the criminal case he would not otherwise have had access to.
 
The witness was eventually shot dead at a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, on January 31.
 
The allegations against Paradkar, whose licence to practice law in Ontario was suspended last week, have not been tested in court.
 
He has denied the allegations against him and maintains his innocence.
 
Crown attorneys told Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden that Paradkar’s detention pending his extradition is necessary because of a flight risk.
 
Paradkar insisted he is not a flight risk as he has no ties to his native India that he has not visited since 1997.
 
His family immigrated to Canada in 1971 where he eventually became a criminal defence lawyer after graduating with a master’s in medical science in the late 1980s.
 
He also offered a proposed plan of release, which he said included a $5-million pledge between himself and his wife, and 24/7 house arrest.

He promised not to leave home unless accompanied by one of his sureties, would have no access to electronic devices except for his wife’s mobile phone.
 
His wife’s cousin is also proposing to put up $250,000 towards Paradkar’s release.
 
He also proposed to be under GPS monitoring and would surrender his passport to police within 48 hours of his release.
 
“Flight, under this plan, would require Mr Paradkar to break through all of these different safeguards, to betray those closest to him, to put their life savings and his life savings at risk, would require him to put his wife and daughters in extreme distress,” the defence lawyer argued in his submissions.
 
On Wednesday, Paradkar claimed he has nowhere to run, no contacts abroad and “would never” abandon his wife and daughters.
 
But the US accuse him of playing an integral role in a billion-dollar organisation run by Wedding, the wanted Olympic athlete-turned-narco trafficker “with links to the Kinahans”.

One of the FBI’s “top ten fugitives” a new photo of Wedding was released just last week.
 
The photo of Wedding, who is subject of a $15 million reward for information, is believed to have been taken in Mexico during the summer.
 
The picture features a shortly-cropped Wedding lying on a bed with a heavily tattooed left shoulder.
 
It is a somewhat cleaner image of the man who is wanted for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation that shipped hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and across the US.
 
Wedding, who was also involved in orchestrating multiple murders “in furtherance of these drug crimes” had appeared in previous images heavily bearded.
 
Wedding represented Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics men’s parallel giant slalom event.
 
His achievements on the slopes even inspired the namesake for the FBI investigation into his alleged enterprise – Operation Giant Slalom.
 
Wedding is still at large, and Canadian and US authorities have previously warned that he will stop at nothing to evade the police.
 
It has been previously reported how Wedding may have gone under the knife to hide his identity.
 
“Investigators believe Wedding may have undergone plastic surgery, particularly since he has financial means,” Laura Eimiller, the spokeswoman for the LA FBI field office, told Los Angeles Magazine. “It’s not uncommon for high-profile fugitives.”

The bureau added Wedding, who is also connected with the deadly El Chapo cartel, to its 10 Most Wanted list in March while also making public the US State Department’s staggering award offer.
 
It was made just days after one of Wedding’s right-hand men was linked to the Kinahan Cartel in documents filed by US attorneys in a Canadian court.
 
Like Wedding, the US government are also offering a reward for the arrest of the Kinahans – with $5m bounty available for information on Christy snr and his two sons Daniel and Christy jnr.