PORT HURON, MICHIGAN — Two Canadian-based truck drivers were taken into custody after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers uncovered more than 124 kilograms of narcotics hidden inside a modified compartment of their tractor-trailer during an early-morning inspection at the Blue Water Bridge on August 28, 2024.

The incident unfolded at approximately 3:26 a.m., when a long-haul tractor trailer loaded with steel bars arrived at the U.S. side of the crossing connecting Michigan and Ontario. The driver, Iqbal Singh Virk, and his co-driver, Ranjit Singh Rowal, both permanent residents of Canada and citizens of India, answered routine questioning before officers directed the truck to secondary inspection. A Rapiscan X-ray system scanned the vehicle and identified an abnormal narrow compartment situated above the trailer’s Ontario licence plate. Officers opened the concealed space and removed 115 tightly-wrapped bricks weighing more than 124 kilograms, believed to be high-grade cocaine with an estimated value of nearly $4 million U.S.

According to MSN News, the discovery quickly expanded into a major development in a broader federal investigation headquartered in Los Angeles, where authorities had been tracking an extensive multinational narcotics operation. Prosecutors allege the network was led by Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder from Canada known by the aliases “Giant” and “El Jefe,” who was accused of overseeing cocaine shipments moving from Colombia into California and onward into Canada through a transportation chain involving Indo-Canadian trucking companies.

Court records show that Virk and Rowal were linked to a distribution system in which drivers received compressed cocaine bricks from cartel-connected dispatchers at arranged meeting points around Los Angeles. The drugs were hidden inside trucks hauling legitimate cargo, allowing the loads to blend into the busy commercial crossings along the Canada–U.S. border. Participants in the network often used serial numbers from one-dollar bills, exchanged through encrypted communication, as verification codes at handoff locations. Evidence later presented in court revealed that Virk had agreed to transport cocaine for the organization earlier that spring and had traveled to California with Rowal to collect shipments intended for delivery in Canada.

Investigators reported that not all of the operation’s transactions unfolded smoothly. In April and May 2024, negotiations between leadership figures became strained when Wedding allegedly attempted to renegotiate transport fees, claiming the load weight would be smaller than expected. Unknown to the transport organizers, the FBI had already infiltrated the cartel’s communications with a confidential source acting as an intermediary. That infiltration ultimately contributed to the seizure at the Blue Water Bridge three months later, when officers intercepted the men attempting another border crossing with a load later found to contain both cocaine and heroin.

Once arrested, Virk and Rowal were transferred to California to face federal charges tied to the wider indictment unsealed against Wedding and fifteen additional individuals. On August 5, 2024, Rowal entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Virk signed a similar plea agreement ten days later. Both men admitted they conspired with multiple individuals, knew they were transporting narcotics, and understood the drugs were destined for further distribution. Their plea documents noted maximum penalties of life imprisonment but provided for reduced sentencing and required forfeiture of all property involved in the crimes, including their tractor-trailer.

Legal filings show that Rowal, who had been incarcerated for 449 days at the time of sentencing, asked the court to order the return of his personal belongings, including his passport, Ontario health card, driver’s license, cell phone, and jewelry. His attorneys argued that he needed the documents to prepare for his departure from the United States and expressed that he placed significant emotional importance on the conclusion of the case. However, on the eve of sentencing, prosecutors submitted a notice that Canadian authorities informed them Rowal would be deemed inadmissible to Canada due to his conviction for serious criminality and would likely face removal proceedings to India. His legal team criticized the filing for what they described as unnecessary public disclosure.

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett accepted Rowal’s guilty plea and sentenced him to 37 months in federal prison, recommending he be placed in a facility near the Canadian border. Virk, who also uses the name Mark, pleaded guilty in September, but his sentencing was postponed and is scheduled for March. Attorneys representing both men did not respond to requests for comment before the publication deadline.

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