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

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.

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