Canadian criminals jailed for trafficking meth and cocaine across borders

New York – A major blow has been dealt to the Canadian criminal organization known as the Wolfpack Alliance, as multiple members were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their roles in an international drug trafficking operation. The sentencing, announced by Acting United States Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York, marks a significant step in dismantling the transnational criminal network responsible for smuggling massive quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine between the United States and Canada.

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Michael Habib, a Toronto-based associate of the Wolfpack Alliance, received a prison sentence of 17 and a half years for his involvement in the illegal drug trade. Habib had pleaded guilty in December 2023 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan. His co-conspirators, Surinder Singh Cheema, Bhupinder Singh Virk, and Christopher Burgos, were sentenced to 18 years, 17 and a half years, and four and a half years, respectively, for their roles in the operation.

According to court records, the group conspired to transport thousands of kilograms of illegal drugs across the U.S.-Canada border between February and November 2022. Authorities intercepted shipments containing approximately 400 kilograms of cocaine from a warehouse in New Jersey, as well as 96 kilograms of cocaine and 86 kilograms of methamphetamine near Kansas City, Kansas. The traffickers used a sophisticated network to move these narcotics, fueling the illegal drug market in North America.

The defendants’ crimes extended beyond drug trafficking. Investigators revealed that Habib and Burgos aided two Wolfpack-associated hitmen, Gene Lahrkamp and Duncan Bailey, in their attempt to flee Canadian law enforcement. Their escape plans came to a tragic end when both men died in a plane crash in April 2022. Additionally, while awaiting sentencing, Cheema was caught orchestrating acts of violence in the greater Toronto area to enforce drug-related debts, demonstrating the gang’s ruthless tactics. Virk, when arrested in California in November 2022, was found in possession of three unregistered “ghost” guns and nearly half a million dollars in cash.

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The sentencing of these individuals underscores law enforcement’s commitment to dismantling criminal organizations that endanger communities on both sides of the border. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy emphasized that the Wolfpack Alliance had created a dangerous drug trafficking route, flooding streets with illegal substances and fueling violence. He reaffirmed the agency’s dedication to bringing such offenders to justice.

In addition to their prison terms, the convicted traffickers were sentenced to supervised release and ordered to forfeit significant assets, including $487,900 and a luxury Mercedes Benz. The case was part of an extensive investigation led by the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Canadian law enforcement agencies, working in coordination through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program.

Authorities continue to pursue remaining members of the Wolfpack Alliance and similar criminal enterprises. The sentencing of these traffickers serves as a stern warning that international drug smuggling and organized crime will not go unpunished.