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BC Fentanyl Ring ‘Negotiated’ With Sinaloa Chief ‘El Mayo,’ Court Filings Allege

Published

9 months ago

5 minute read

Sam Cooper

A new high-profile British Columbia money laundering case targets an alleged Sinaloa Cartel–linked fentanyl and cocaine trafficking cell established in a mansion near the U.S. border. Court filings say the group was capable of negotiating significant cocaine importation deals with Ismael Garcia—known as “El Mayo”—the reputed Sinaloa Cartel chief.

According to the filings, the Canada-based syndicate comprised at least three men, including Hector Chavez-Anchondo. The lawsuit, filed yesterday by the Director of Civil Forfeiture, contends that they belonged to a violent drug trafficking organization that “used and continues to use violence, or threats of violence, to achieve its aims.”

Investigators allege that the Sinaloa Cartel-linked gang trafficked a range of controlled substances, including ketamine, methamphetamine, Xanax, oxycodone, MDMA, and fentanyl.

“As part of these efforts, the drug trafficking organization has agreed to, and made arrangements to, purchase cocaine from the Cártel de Sinaloa in Mexico,” the filings say. They add that “the Sinaloa Cartel is a terrorist entity, and the government of Canada listed it as such on February 20, 2025.”

Though no criminal convictions have been reported in connection with this lawsuit—first covered by the Vancouver Sun—Canada’s designation of the Sinaloa Cartel as a terrorist organization could have significant ramifications for high-level discussions between the Trump Administration and Ottawa. Washington has intensified pressure on Canada over alleged failures to curb fentanyl trafficking networks, with the dispute escalating into sweeping tariffs amid a mounting trade war.

According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, members of the Surrey-based fentanyl and cocaine trafficking network had the clout to negotiate cocaine supply terms directly with García until his arrest by U.S. law enforcement on July 25, 2024. Court filings state that his capture “disrupted the DTO’s efforts to import and distribute cocaine in Canada,” forcing the group to pivot and initiate “negotiations with other parties, known only to the DTO members.”

RCMP investigators say they uncovered a substantial cache of weapons and narcotics during a search of a Surrey property on 77th Avenue on September 23, 2024. The multi-million-dollar mansion is located about 20 minutes from the Peace Arch border crossing in Washington State, north of Seattle.

Court submissions detail the following seized items:

  • Firearms: Twenty-three weapons, including ten handguns, two sawed-off shotguns, two hunting rifles, seven assault rifles (two reportedly equipped with screw-on sound suppressors), and a speargun.
  • Drugs: Approximately 3.5 kilograms of ketamine and methamphetamine concealed in a hidden compartment in one suspect’s room, hundreds of counterfeit alprazolam pills, and a hidden stash of oxycodone pills.
  • Currency: Nearly CAD 15,000 in cash, bundled “not consistent with standard banking practices.”

Authorities also confiscated numerous luxury assets, asserting these represented either instruments or proceeds of unlawful activity. In a filing submitted today, a lawyer for the Director of Asset Seizure wrote:

“There is a triable question as to whether the Vehicles, the Motorcycles, the Azure Boat, the Trailer, the Money, the Jewellery, and other Valuables and Electronic Devices are either instruments or proceeds of unlawful activity. Drug trafficking is a cash business. Persons involved in illegal drug activity frequently carry large sums of cash, either to purchase drugs or as proceeds from drug sales. Currency itself can be an instrument of unlawful activity, facilitating further drug transactions.”

Seized vehicles included a 2006 GMC Sierra, a 2002 Ford F350, a 2006 Land Rover, a 2018 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport, a 2006 Dodge Charger R/T, and a restored 1950 vintage Ford. Investigators also confiscated upscale motorcycles, such as a 2012 Harley Davidson and custom bikes featuring elaborate flame motifs. An Azure AZ238 boat, along with its Shoreland’r trailer, was taken as well.

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Crime

Trump designates fentanyl a ‘weapon of mass destruction’

Published on December 16, 2025

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From The Center Square

By 

Following an alarming rise in fentanyl deaths in recent years, President Donald Trump is taking another step in cracking down on the deadly drug seeping its way onto American streets by designating it a weapon of mass destruction.

The president signed the executive order Monday during an event in the Oval Office, saying the illicit drug “is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic.”

The designation comes on the heels of the administration’s increasing military presence in the Caribbean, targeting narco-terrorists and “successful” meetings with Chinese leaders, who have vowed to crack down on the production of precursors of the drug.

Critics of Trump’s move want to address the fentanyl crisis through a different way. For example, a 2024 bill from attorneys general asking former President Joe Biden to do the same thing expressed concerns about political optics and the language akin to military. Overreach and blurred lines in domestic actions, such as rounding up users.

The order would provide the secretaries of the Department of War and Department of Homeland Security to “update all directives regarding the armed forces’ response to chemical incidents in the homeland to include the threat of illicit fentanyl.”

Trump said the fentanyl drug trade “threatens” national security by fueling “lawlessness” in the Western Hemisphere. This is the area of North America and South America, and the islands near each.

“The production and sale of fentanyl by foreign terrorist organizations and cartels fund these entities’ operations – which include assassinations, terrorist acts, and insurgencies around the world – and allow these entities to erode our domestic security and the well-being of our nation,” the order says in part.

Trump said two cartels are predominantly responsible. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known also as CJNG, are based in Mexico.

The Drug Enforcement Agency said last December that in 2023, more than 107,000 people died from drug overdoses, with nearly 70% attributed to opioids, like fentanyl.

In late February, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via its National Vital Statistics System predicted a 24% decline in drug overdose deaths for the 12 months ending in September. The finding was based on 87,000 drug overdose deaths from October 2023 to September 2024, down from 114,000 the year prior.

Trump declared opioid overdose a public health emergency in 2017 during his first term.

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Crime

Hero bystander disarms shooter in Australian terror attack

Published on December 14, 2025

By

MXM logo MxM News

The chaos that struck Australia on Sunday night produced one moment of astonishing courage: a Sydney shopkeeper, armed with nothing but instinct and grit, charged a gunman at Bondi Beach and wrestled the rifle out of his hands as terrified families ran for cover. Authorities say the act likely prevented even more deaths in what officials have already called an antisemitic terror attack that left 12 people dead and dozens wounded during a Hanukkah celebration along the water.

The hero has been identified as 43-year-old fruit shop owner Ahmed Al Ahmed, a father of two who happened to be nearby when gunfire erupted at the beachfront event “Hanukkah by the Sea,” which had drawn more than 200 people. Footage captured the moment he marched toward the shooter, grabbed hold of the rifle, and overpowered him in a brief, violent struggle. As the gunman hit the pavement, Al Ahmed momentarily pointed the weapon back at him but didn’t fire, instead placing it against a tree before another attacker opened up from a bridge above. He was hit in the hand and shoulder and is now recovering after emergency surgery.

A relative told Australia’s Channel Seven that Al Ahmed had never handled a gun in his life. “He’s a hero — he’s 100 percent a hero,” the family member said. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns echoed the praise, calling the scene “unbelievable,” adding, “A man walked up to someone who had just fired on the community and single-handedly disarmed him. Many people are alive tonight because of his bravery.”

Police say two shooters stepped out of a vehicle along Campbell Parade around 6:40 p.m. and began firing toward the beach. One gunman was killed, the other is in custody in critical condition. Detectives are also investigating whether a third attacker was involved, and bomb units swept the area after reports that an explosive device may have been planted beneath a pedestrian bridge. The toll is staggering: 12 dead, including one shooter, and at least 29 wounded — among them children and two police officers.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned what he called “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah,” saying, “What should have been a night of joy and peace has been shattered by this horrifying evil attack.” Emergency crews flooded the beach as hundreds of panicked people sprinted away from the gunfire. Video shows one attacker firing down toward the sand from the bridge behind Bondi Park before being shot himself in a final standoff captured by drone footage. Both gunmen appeared to be carrying ammunition belts, with witnesses estimating up to 50 rounds were fired.

Australian police have cordoned off properties linked to the suspects and continue to canvass Bondi for additional threats. What remains clear is that Sunday’s attack was met with extraordinary acts of self-sacrifice, none more dramatic than a shopkeeper from Sutherland who walked into gunfire to stop further slaughter.

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