A Brampton, Ont., man may spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to trafficking up to US$17 million worth of meth and cocaine into Canada.

The FBI in Los Angeles says 62-year-old Guramrit Sidhu pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.

He now faces a minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The FBI said in a news release Thursday that Sidhu was the lead defendant in a 23-count January 2024 federal indictment targeting a drug trafficking organization. He has been in federal custody since October 2024 after being extradited from Canada.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.

According to his plea agreement, between September 2020 and February 2023, he led an organization responsible for trafficking drugs into Canada from the U.S.

From Sept. 13, 2022, to Oct.24, 2022, Sidhu orchestrated the distribution of eight separate drug loads, totalling approximately 523 kilograms of methamphetamine and 347 kilograms of cocaine.

Authorities seized those loads, and estimated a wholesale value of approximately US$15 to US$17 million.

“After buying the bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine in the U.S., Sidhu arranged for the narcotics’ transportation into Canada via long-haul semi-trucks for further distribution,” the FBI said.

“Sidhu provided telephone numbers and serial numbers on bills of currency for couriers to use as a ‘token’ for identification purposes during the delivery and transportation of the cocaine and methamphetamine.”

Sidhu and co-conspirators then retrieved the drugs from locations within Canada for further distribution, the FBI added.

He is the seventh defendant to plead guilty in the case. The others who pleaded guilty have been sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 27 months to 108 months, the FBI said.

Sidhu’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 9.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.