Alleged drug kingpin busted in AFP plot

A notorious international gangster who allegedly attempted to flood Australia with hundreds of kilos of ice and cocaine has been brought down in a dramatic covert operation.

Alleged Canadian drug king pin Opinder Singh Sian was arrested in Las Vegas. Picture: istock

EXCLUSIVE: A notorious international gangster who allegedly attempted to flood Australia with hundreds of kilos of ice and cocaine has been brought down in a dramatic covert operation involving American and Australian law enforcement.

Alleged Canadian drug king pin Opinder Singh Sian, who goes by the alias of Marvel supervillain Thanos, was arrested in Nevada after a years-long operation in which undercover police officers and informants infiltrated the group on both sides of the Pacific in Australia and the US.

Two Australian men were also arrested and could face life imprisonment if found guilty after allegedly attempting to collect a drug shipment arranged by Sian that AFP officers had intercepted, replaced with fake product and implanted with a tracking device.

America’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) alleged Sian, 37, was linked to organised crime groups in Ireland, Canada, Australia, Turkey, the US and Mexico and moved vast amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl precursor ingredients around the globe.

Opinder Singh Sian, who goes by the alias of Marvel supervillain Thanos.

In an arrest warrant issued by the DEA, it is alleged Sian first came to the attention of authorities in June 2022 when sources in Turkey revealed a major drug trafficking organisation was looking for someone to help co-ordinate the shipment of drugs from Southern California to Australia.

DEA agents claim they planted a source who was contacted by a gang member in Turkey who then put him in touch with Sian, the group’s North American leader based in Vancouver, Canada.

It is alleged the pair regularly communicated over encrypted messaging app Threema and met in Vancouver and Los Angeles to arrange shipments of up to 750kgs of methamphetamine to Australia.

In court documents obtained by this masthead, DEA agents allege during one meeting, Sian introduced the undercover operative to another man who needed help moving 500 kilograms of cocaine from LA to Australia.

Sian and his associates, including one who used the alias Darth Vader, allegedly handed over four ice hauls to the informant in Los Angeles destined for Australia between June and August 2023 in varying shipments totalling more than 220kgs.

“(The informant) then led Sian, and others, to believe the drugs were on a ship to Australia,” an affidavit filed with the court states.

“When the purported arrival date came, DEA and Australian law enforcement packaged sham methamphetamine and placed a tracking device inside.

“Undercover Australian officers gave the sham drugs to (drug trafficking organisation) members in Sydney, Australia.”

The DEA alleges the fake drugs were driven to a stash house in Sydney where it was raided by Australian Federal Police officers who arrested the couriers.

A 34-year-old Wentworth Point man was charged with supplying a commercial quantity of prohibited drugs and dealing with more than $10,000 of criminal proceeds.

Another Australian man aged 31 was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs.

Both men remain before the courts and face a maximum term of life imprisonment.

An AFP spokesman confirmed it had provided assistance to the US DEA investigation that seized about 250kg of methamphetamine destined for Australia.

“AFP officers executed a controlled operation regarding the purported methamphetamine, resulting in criminal charges being laid against two people in Australia,” the spokesman said.

“The AFP works closely with our international partners to target transnational serious organised crime networks and stop the flow of illicit drugs into our country.”

Sian has been charged with conspiracy to export methamphetamine and was arrested in Las Vegas last week before being transferred to face trial in California.

Originally published as Alleged drug kingpin busted in AFP plot