A Calgary resident once described by police as a high-level drug trafficker with cartel connections has been arrested in connection with a U.S. criminal investigation involving an alleged transnational drug network, a former Canadian Olympic athlete, and the killing of a witness in Colombia.
The Calgary Sun reported court documents show Allistair Chapman, 33, appeared Tuesday in Calgary Court of King’s Bench, where his U.S. extradition hearing was adjourned until Friday.
Chapman is wanted in the United States on several charges, including conspiracy to export cocaine and murder related to a continuing criminal enterprise.
Chapman was represented in court by defence lawyer Chad Haggerty, who declined to comment after the hearing.
Chapman is the only Calgary resident named by the U.S. Department of Justice in relation to an ongoing probe involving Ryan James Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder who American authorities allege is being sheltered by a Mexican drug cartel. Another Canadian, Ahmad Nabil Zitoun of Edmonton, was also arrested as part of the investigation.
Wedding is currently listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
Chapman is known to Calgary police from a previous investigation dating back to 2016, the Sun reported. That operation began after Utah authorities intercepted three couriers transporting approximately 100 kilograms of methamphetamine in a pickup truck.
Calgary police later connected the smuggling operation to a fatal shooting outside a southeast Calgary grocery store in May 2017. Chapman was charged at the time and accused by police of leading the drug organization.
Sources close to that earlier investigation described Chapman as a quiet and reportedly unpopular figure within local organized crime but said his alleged connections to Mexican suppliers elevated his status in the criminal network.
Charges from that case were dismissed in 2020 after Justice Richard Neufeld ruled the matter had exceeded reasonable timelines, violating the accused’s constitutional right to a timely trial.
The latest charges stem from Operation Grand Slalom, a joint investigation involving American and Canadian authorities into alleged cartel-linked drug trafficking and multiple murders.
A U.S. indictment alleges Chapman helped facilitate efforts to locate a witness set to testify against Wedding by supplying a photograph and arranging to have it posted online, enabling associates to track the witness before he was killed.
Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the U.S. case. Authorities say four additional suspects, including Wedding and two Canadians, remain at large.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that Wedding is believed to be residing in Mexico and is “responsible for overseeing one of the most violent and prolific drug trafficking networks currently operating.”
A joint announcement involving FBI director Kash Patel and RCMP commissioner Michael Duheme confirmed the coordinated arrests.
Chapman remains in custody pending continuation of his extradition proceedings.
