Brian Da Costa, an alleged drug trafficker facing charges for bribing Toronto police officers in Project South, must avoid contact with Gurpreet Singh, a co-accused associate of suspected cocaine kingpin Ryan Wedding. Singh tops a list of 36 individuals prohibited from communication under Da Costa’s bail conditions.
Singh’s Role in Drug Shipments
Singh, arrested in Ontario in October 2024 alongside three others, faces allegations of aiding Wedding’s violent drug-smuggling operation. U.S. prosecutors claim Singh and his uncle arranged at least two cocaine shipments exceeding 650 kilograms from California to Canada. The pair reportedly agreed to $220,000 per truckload during a meeting at a Brampton auto body shop, secretly recorded by an FBI informant who was later killed in Colombia.
Singh remains in custody at Toronto South Detention Centre while contesting extradition to California for trial in Wedding’s drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Links to Project South Investigation
Sources confirm Singh’s ties to Project South, though he faces no charges or accusations in the police corruption and organized crime probe. His lawyer, Brian Greenspan, emphasized that Singh confronts only U.S. charges unrelated to the Canadian investigation and declined further comment on potential investigator contacts.
Origins of the Probe
The investigation launched in June after York Regional Police uncovered a plot to murder a senior corrections officer at Toronto South Detention Centre. York police Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan identified Toronto Const. Timothy Barnhardt as the probe’s starting point. Barnhardt faces multiple charges for allegedly aiding organized crime by accessing and sharing sensitive information on the officer with Da Costa, who then disseminated it to others involved in the murder scheme.
Da Costa’s Bail and Charges
Da Costa secured $1.5 million bail on Wednesday and now serves house arrest while confronting 16 charges, including bribing a peace officer, drug and police uniform trafficking, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. His no-contact orders extend to seven charged Toronto police officers, one retired constable, and additional civilian suspects.
Bail hearing details remain under a publication ban to protect Da Costa’s fair trial rights. None of the allegations in the corruption and organized crime cases have been proven in court.
