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Brian Da Costa, an alleged drug trafficker accused of bribing Toronto police officers in Project South, has been ordered not to contact a co-accused of alleged cocaine kingpin Ryan Wedding as part of his bail conditions.
The associate, Gurpreet Singh, is one of 36 names listed on a no-contact list included in Da Costa’s release order. Singh was one of four men in Ontario arrested in October 2024, amid allegations they acted as accomplices in the murderous drug-smuggling organization purportedly led by Wedding.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Singh and his uncle co-ordinated at least two shipments, totalling more than 650 kilograms of cocaine, from California to Canada for Wedding’s network. The pair purportedly agreed to move the drugs for a rate of $220,000 per truck load, in a meeting held at a Brampton, Ont., auto body shop and secretly recorded by an FBI informant who was later shot dead in Colombia.
Singh has been held at Toronto South Detention Centre since his arrest. He’s currently fighting extradition to California, where he’s wanted to stand trial in connection with Wedding’s suspected drug-trafficking conspiracy.
CBC News has spoken with two sources who say Singh is connected to Project South. However, Singh is not accused of any wrongdoing nor is he facing any criminal charges in connection with Project South.
Singh’s lawyer Brian Greenspan declined to say whether investigators had contacted him or his client in relation to the major police corruption and organized crime investigation.
Reached by phone, Greenspan underlined Singh is only facing charges in the U.S. — none of them related to Project South.
The sweeping probe began last June after York police officers uncovered an alleged conspiracy to kill a senior corrections officer at Toronto South Detention Centre. Last month, York police Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan described Toronto cop Timothy Barnhardt as the “genesis” of the investigation.
Hogan alleged Barnhardt accessed private information about the senior corrections officer and provided it to Da Costa, who is then accused of releasing it to others charged in the murder plot.
Da Costa was granted a $1.5-million bail Wednesday and will be released on house arrest while facing 16 charges in Project South, including bribing a peace officer, trafficking drugs and police uniforms and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
His other no-contacts include the seven Toronto police officers and one retired constable charged in the corruption investigation, along with some of the other civilians accused.
Details about the case presented at the bail hearing are protected under a routine publication ban aimed at ensuring Da Costa’s right to a fair trial.
None of the allegations against those charged in the corruption and organized crime investigation have been tested in court.
