Local jeweller accused of ties to Ryan Wedding won't fight extradition
· Toronto Sun
A local jeweller accused of helping launder millions of dollars for a drug-trafficking ring allegedly led by a Canadian Olympian won’t fight his extradition to the U.S.
Rolan Sokolovski was in court on Tuesday, when he consented to being extradited to the U.S., his lawyer told the media. The federal minister of justice will now issue a formal surrender order with Sokolovski turned over to U.S. authorities within 45 days of issuing the order.
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Sokolovski’s lawyer Scott Fenton told CTV that a consent to extradition is neither an admission of guilt nor an indication of the strength of the case against him. He added that Sokolovski intends to contest the charges in a California court.
Accusations
The U.S. Department of Justice said that Sokolovski allegedly served as a “de facto bank” for Canadian Ryan Wedding , an Olympic snowboarder and accused cocaine kingpin. Prosecutors alleged that he moved drug money for Wedding and acquired luxury goods, including a rare $13-million Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster.
A former poker shark, Sokolovski, 38, was arrested in Toronto in November as part of the FBI and RCMP’s joint operation to dismantle Wedding’s alleged drug network. Sokolovski was denied bail and has been held in Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton.
Court documents said that Sokolovski, who used such aliases “Sushi” and “Applepie,” is accused of using crypto platforms and his Toronto jewelry business Diamond Tsar to allegedly launder Wedding’s drug money. Prosecutors said he also designed a necklace for Atna Ohna , a Montreal-based gang leader, allegedly as a reward for his role in the murder of an FBI witness.
Sokolovski faces conspiracy charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
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Key players
Since 2004, the DOJ has indicted at least 34 people in connection with Wedding’s alleged drug-trafficking ring, which authorities claim moved tonnes of cocaine and fentanyl across the continent and killed dozens of people. Wedding himself was captured in January while on the lam in Mexico and was transferred to California. He’s currently in U.S. custody, but his current whereabouts are not publicly known.
A third man, Gursewak Singh Bal, was also arrested last fall as part of “Operation Giant Slalom” and faces an extradition hearing on Dec. 10. A crime blogger, Singh Bal ran The Dirty News, a site that U.S. authorities said was allegedly used to co-ordinate the assassination of Quebec-born FBI witness Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, who was shot in the head while having lunch in Medellin, Colombia.
Deepak Paradkar, another allegedly high-level player, is said by U.S. prosecutors to have accepted “cash drops” and a high-end watch to serve as a fixer for Wedding’s drug ring. He’s out on bail after a failed bid to overturn his release, denies any wrongdoing and continues to fight extradition.
Wedding is scheduled to stand trial twice later this year for two separate indictments. The first of two trials is scheduled to start on Oct. 7.