Charges against 5 suspects in case of organized crime with ties to Mexican cartel and murder dropped

Amid secret federal trials and just before the defense moved to drop all charges, prosecutors have ended the prosecution of five people accused of running a massive cross-border drug trafficking ring involving Mexican cartels, CBC News has learned.

At the time the charges were filed, police said the $55 million drug bust, involving nearly a ton of methamphetamine and six kilograms of cocaine, was the largest ever in Alberta.

After three postponements last week, last April and in 2023, 10 of the 15 people originally charged in the investigation dubbed Project Cobra will no longer face trial.

Ricco King, 52, the alleged leader of the organization, which has ties to both Calgary and Halifax, was one of five people who walked away from charges. It is the second time in five years that he has escaped international drug trafficking charges.

Last week, federal prosecutors dropped all charges against King, Jarett Mackenzie (34), Elias Ade (40), Abdul Akbar (39) and Kari-Lynn Grant (53), the alleged ringleaders and those accused of the most serious crimes.

Secret Federal Court Proceedings

The decision came a day before the defendants’ lawyers were to file a petition with Jordan arguing that the charges should be dropped because of the unreasonable delay in bringing the case to trial.

At the same time, defence lawyers were fighting in federal court to release information that the attorney general refused to turn over because of national security concerns. The release involved investigative techniques used by the RCMP.

The case was heard behind closed doors.

Federal court documents show that the attorney general filed a notice of discontinuance of all cases the day after the stays were issued, meaning prosecutors don’t have to turn over information the government wanted to keep secret.

No ‘reasonable prospect of conviction’

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada declined to comment on the decision to issue the suspensions, but sent CBC News a statement saying the Office had fulfilled its duty to “continually assess whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction based on the admissible evidence.”

“The Public Prosecution Service has ruled that this is no longer the case,” the PPSC wrote.

Mackenzie’s lawyer, Gavin Wolch, praised the prosecution for “keeping an objective eye on the merits of the prosecution.”

“Like any machine with many moving parts, such a prosecution is a huge undertaking. If one part breaks, the whole machine can collapse,” Wolch said.

Akbar’s lawyer, Faizan Butt, called an accused’s right to full disclosure and the right to timely prosecution “fundamental principles of justice.”

“The remedies for violations of these principles, which are enshrined in the Charter, can often produce harsh results,” Butt said. “But they are necessary in a democratic society … and serve as procedural guardians for our justice system.”

Project Cobra

In September 2022, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) announced the results of Project Cobra, in partnership with several law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The investigation resulted in 15 charges against 80 individuals, including drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering and firearms offenses.

The defendants, including King, were accused of smuggling drugs from Mexican drug cartels into Alberta.

Two of King’s homes — multimillion-dollar mansions in Halifax and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario — were seized by police. Detectives also seized two Lamborghinis, a Porsche and other assets that were considered at the time to be the proceeds of organized crime.

In addition, nineteen firearms, including rifles and submachine guns, were seized by the police.

In April, the prosecution suspended charges against three others: Jesse Marshall, 54, Daniel Menzul, 34, and Sean Nesbitt, 46. And last year, charges against Lina El-Chammoury, 52, and Belal Fouani, 46, were dropped.

Months before the suspensions were issued, three other defendants in the Project Cobra investigation pleaded guilty.

Murder Connection

Among those arrested was Talal Fouani. Just weeks after being charged with organized crime, he and his wife were gunned down as they sat in their Bentley outside their southwest Calgary home.

Nakita Baron, 31, died of her injuries. Fouani survived.

Last year, Fouani pleaded guilty to money laundering, but he has not yet been sentenced and is awaiting a decision on whether his charges will be stayed due to what his lawyer called an unreasonable delay in the case.

When Fouani filed a request, the charges against his sister and brother were dropped.

A man has been charged with Baron’s murder, but police and the Public Prosecution Service have not publicly linked him to the organized crime case.