Canadian Olympian Allegedly Linked to Drug Scheme
Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic athlete from Canada, is reportedly connected to a plot involving the murder of an FBI witness, allegedly influenced by a lawyer known as the “cocaine lawyer.”
Criminal defense attorney Deepak Balwant Paradkar, aged 62, is accused of collaborating with Wedding to evade law enforcement in a massive cocaine trafficking operation.
Paradkar, nicknamed “Napoleon” for his fierce courtroom presence, was arrested and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. He faces allegations of assisting Wedding in uncovering how police intercepted his cocaine shipments and in devising alternative routes to prevent future seizures.
Reports suggest that Paradkar instructed Wedding’s team to investigate how authorities disrupted their operations and to eliminate FBI witness Jonathan Acabedo Garcia as a means to halt the federal inquiry.
Wedding allegedly posted images of Garcia online, leading to Garcia’s murder in Medellin, Colombia, in January 2025.
The U.S. indictment lists several of Paradkar’s aliases, including “cocaine_lawyer” and “Deepaj Emergency.” He even created an email addressed as “criminal_lawyer@me.com.” Although his Instagram was deleted in 2017, it previously featured posts expressing his fascination with cocaine.
In one notable post, he showcased his yellow Lamborghini with a caption that read, “Cocaine is the price lol!!!” Another post displayed police seizing drugs and firearms, captioned with “100 kilos of K, 4 kilos of cocaine, 5 guns, an Uzi, a Glock – not guilty!”
At that time, he faced disciplinary actions from the Law Society of Ontario for inappropriate online conduct.
Paradkar, originally from India and having moved to Canada at the age of seven, previously mentioned to the Toronto Star, “I treat the trial like a war. I’ve admired Napoleon since I was 16.” He grew up as the son of a Presbyterian minister and has cited influences from notable figures like Deepak Chopra and Napoleon Hill, expressing a belief that aiming high can lead to success.
This isn’t the first incident where Paradkar has crossed legal lines with clients. He once represented serial killer Dellen Millard but withdrew from the case in 2016 after it was revealed that Millard and his girlfriend were attempting to manipulate witnesses through illegal means.
Paradkar was among ten individuals arrested for allegedly working with a cartel to transport around 60 tons of cocaine annually from Colombia through Mexico into the United States and Canada.
Ryan Wedding, meanwhile, is reported to be in hiding in Mexico and is currently on the FBI’s most wanted list, with a reward for his capture reaching $15 million.
U.S. Attorney Bill Esseri highlighted the recent arrests, stating, “This week’s arrests underscore our determination to root out and punish the wrongdoers involved in this criminal organization and serve as a warning to drug lord Ryan Wedding: If convicted, he will never see the outside of prison again.”
