Calgary trucker Subham Kumar will have to wait to find out if he’ll be ordered extradited to the U.S. to face California drug allegations in connection with a major Mexican narcotics network.
Calgary Court of King’s Bench Justice Keith Yamauchi reserved decision Thursday on an application by the Canadian Department of Justice on behalf of U.S. officials to have Kumar extradited.
Yamauchi reserved his ruling after hearing submissions from DOJ lawyer Colin LaRoche and defence counsel Curtis Armitage.
The Calgary judge ordered a publication ban on evidence presented before him in the extradition hearing.
Kumar, 31, was one of five Canadians detained in January 2024 by the RCMP under an international arrest warrant at the request of American officials in connection with allegations of a drug smuggling network from Mexico to the U.S. and ultimately Canada.
He was subsequently released on conditions that include he wear an ankle monitoring device.
According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California released at the time, the arrests were connected to a Los Angeles grand jury indictment charging 19 individuals for their alleged role in the organized crime syndicate.
U.S. authorities alleged the group used “Canadian handlers and dispatchers” who travelled from Canada to Los Angeles for short periods of time.
“The handlers co-ordinated the pickup and delivery of large shipments of cocaine and methamphetamine, which were loaded onto long-haul semi-trucks destined for Canada,” the U.S. statement said.
“Wholesale quantities of fentanyl were seized as a result of the investigation.”
According to information obtained by the National Post through unsealed court documents, Kumar was contacted by an FBI informant who was looking for a truck driver to move 100 kilograms of cocaine from L.A. to Baltimore.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Yamauchi will hand down a decision at a later date. Kumar is back in court on March 13.