Lawyer arrested in Ryan Wedding case has ‘extraordinary’ incentive to flee: Crown

A Thornhill lawyer facing extradition to the U.S. after being charged in the investigation into an international drug smuggling ring.

TORONTO — An Ontario lawyer accused of being deeply embedded in a violent transnational drug smuggling ring has “extraordinary” incentive to flee and may have access to hidden resources that would help him evade law enforcement, federal prosecutors argued Thursday in opposing his release.

Deepak Paradkar faces multiple life sentences in the U.S., where he is accused of belonging to the “inner circle” of alleged Canadian drug kingpin Ryan Wedding and using his status as a criminal lawyer to help the organization, Crown attorney Heather Graham said in her submissions.

“As far as the potential punishment, there couldn’t be a stronger incentive (to flee) in this case,” she argued in a downtown Toronto courtroom.

U.S. officials allege Paradkar was paid with bulk cash drops and luxury items such as watches, making it impossible to gauge the resources available to him, Graham argued, adding the lifestyle described by Paradkar and his wife over two days of testimony doesn’t match the family’s reported income.

Wedding is also believed to be on the lam in Mexico, which suggests there is a way to “flee and hide out and to be supported in doing that,” she said.

Paradkar’s defence lawyer, Ravin Pillay, argued there is no evidence his client has access to any additional funds or resources, nor are there allegations the lawyer was involved in the organization’s financial operations.

What’s more, Pillay argued, Paradkar has deep roots in the community — including a marriage and law practice spanning decades — and is proposing to place himself under strict conditions if released ahead of his extradition hearing. The proposed plan includes round-the-clock house arrest and GPS monitoring, as well as a joint pledge of $5 million with his wife, court has heard.

“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.

Paradkar, who U.S. officials say was also known under the name “cocaine_lawyer” for his previous social media handle, is one of several Canadians arrested on extradition warrants last month in connection with an FBI operation targeting Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder.

It’s alleged the Thornhill, Ont., lawyer advised Wedding on the murder of a federal witness, introduced the former athlete to drug traffickers who moved product through North America and paid other lawyers to provide information helpful to the criminal organization.

In his testimony earlier this week, the 62-year-old laid out health issues he said could be aggravated in detention, in part due to inconsistent access to the medication he needs to manage diabetes and a heart condition.

On Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden questioned whether someone of Paradkar’s age and condition could stay on the run without eventually needing medical care.

“What’s the alternative? It’s to spend the rest of his life in an American prison,” Graham replied.

“I would submit that a 62-year-old with serious health conditions faced with potentially having to work out how he’s going to get health care versus the rest of his life in a foreign prison ... I know a good bet of which way that calculation is gonna fall.”

Paradkar and his wife’s finances and assets came under scrutiny over the course of the bail hearing.

His wife, Mandy Paradkar, told the court she never saw her husband receive luxurious gifts or suspicious amounts of cash from clients in their decades together.

While it’s not uncommon for clients to pay lawyers in cash, none of the amounts received by her husband raised any concerns, nor did she ever see him get any gifts from clients aside from alcohol or chocolates, she said under cross-examination.

Her husband never mentioned receiving any such items either, Mandy Paradkar said.

“As far as you’re concerned, all the gifts that he’s generously provided you and your daughters and the trips and the cars, they all come, in your mind, from his private (law) practice,” federal prosecutor Milica Potrebic suggested.

“That’s correct,” Paradkar replied.

Court heard the couple own several properties, including a home assessed at roughly $5 million and a cottage, lease four luxury cars and took multiple trips costing tens of thousands of dollars in recent years.

They received an insurance settlement of about $700,000 earlier this year after a break-in in which designer bags, shoes and suits were stolen, along with jewelry and watches, court heard.

Prosecutors asked Paradkar whether the allegations, which she said she first heard at the time of her husband’s arrest, had shaken her trust in him and their bond.

“No,” she answered. “I believe in him and I believe in his innocence.”

The retired accountant and paralegal is proposing to act as one of her husband’s sureties if he is granted bail, along with her cousin.

Last week, the law society’s disciplinary tribunal temporarily suspended Paradkar’s licence to practise.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2025.