Alleged trafficker sold drugs to First Nations, laundered millions at casinos: RCMP

Alleged trafficker sold drugs to First Nations, laundered millions at casinos: RCMP

THE RCMP’s case against a man accused of trafficking illicit drugs to remote northern First Nations and laundering millions in the proceeds at Winnipeg casinos is revealed in detailed court documents obtained by the Free Press.

In early October, Manitoba RCMP announced the arrest of Mohammad Riyadul Hoque, 30, of Winnipeg. He was charged with trafficking fentanyl and cocaine, money laundering and the possession of proceeds of crime, after police seized crack and various opioid pills while executing search warrants on his Minto-area home.

Hoque’s arrest on Sept. 19 was the culmination of a nearly year-long investigation into his alleged trafficking ring, which saw couriers with ties to Red Sucker Lake, Garden Hill, Wasagamack and St. Theresa Point First Nations on Island Lake allegedly pick up fentanyl pills and crack cocaine in Winnipeg and fly the drugs to the isolated areas. He’s also accused of dealing inside the city.

At the time, the RCMP said investigators were alerted to the accused by the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries security team in October 2022, who warned police of suspicious activity at Winnipeg casinos that could have been attempted money laundering.

But the intricate facts of how RCMP organized crime investigators believe the alleged dealer operated out of Winnipeg airport-area hotels and city casino parking lots — and the sheer amount of cash he is accused of laundering at the casinos and via subsequent real estate investments — are contained in documents filed in support of a Sept. 21 criminal property forfeiture lawsuit.

An RCMP report to Crown prosecutors, filed within an affidavit, notes that MLL estimates Hoque wagered millions of dollars in provincially operated casinos between August 2021 and December 2022.

The report alleges he lost some of that money and used funds received after cashing out at the casinos to purchase property.

MLL reported he gambled $3.5 million at casinos in 2021 and cashed out nearly $4 million. In 2022, he reportedly wagered $5.7 million and cashed out $6.2 million.

This year, Hoque wagered $864,000 and cashed out about $439,000, it’s alleged.

The province’s criminal property forfeiture director filed the statement of claim and supporting documents in Court of King’s Bench against Hoque, his wife and a man who lives at their Denson Place home.

Hoque and his wife are planning to fight the civil suit, the documents suggest. None of the criminal charges have been proven in court.

The forfeiture suit is seeking a court order allowing the province to seize three properties owned by Hoque — the house on Denson Place, another house on Renfrew Street and a strip mall on Regent Avenue East — as the proceeds of crime, and two SUVs owned by Hoque’s spouse and their housemate.

Hoque is accused of using the vehicles to deal drugs.

The statement of claim also details the RCMP’s complicated investigation, which included surveillance and the use of undercover officers who purchased drugs with marked cash, which Hoque then allegedly wagered at casinos, as well as court orders to look at his bank accounts, phone records and the use of confidential informants.

The 18-page report to prosecutors shows that MLL security investigators deemed Hoque a “very high-risk” patron, who had the “largest cash transactions in Manitoba casinos.”

He regularly visited the Club Regent and McPhillips Station casinos and occasionally went to the Shark Club downtown, the court documents say. He allegedly told security investigators at the casinos that he came from a wealthy family and partially owned Chicken Delight restaurants, to explain where his cash came from.

He made similar claims to his bank, according to the court documents, as well as claiming he worked as a food delivery driver, received rental income as a landlord and ran a chimney business.

Organized-crime investigators have found no evidence to support most of his claims of legitimate income sources, the report to the Crown says.

His bank records suggest he received many money transfers from people in Red Sucker Lake First Nation, including more than $500,000 from just three people from the First Nation in 2022-23 alone, according to the report to the Crown.

RCMP officers spotted Hoque conducting hand-to-hand transactions throughout Winnipeg, including at hotels near the city’s airport, as well as picking up people at the terminal for a northern aviation company that regularly travels to the Island Lake area, according to the documents.

Investigators found that since May this year, Hoque called a northern aviation company more than three dozen times and was in contact with several city hotels, calling them more than 275 times, including many in the area of the airport.

Further, it’s alleged he had been in contact with numerous phone numbers in Red Sucker Lake — in excess of 350 times — as well as numerous other contacts with phone numbers in other northern communities.

Hoque is next due in court on the criminal charges Nov. 20.

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