Law society begins proceedings to suspend licence of lawyer implicated in Ryan Wedding’s alleged cocaine ring

Deepak Paradkar is seen in Hamilton, Ont., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

The Law Society of Ontario has begun proceedings to suspend the licence of a Brampton lawyer who is facing criminal charges in the United States in connection with Ryan Wedding’s alleged drug trafficking ring.

In a notice posted to its website on Thursday, the Law Society of Ontario said that it was seeking an “interlocutory order” to suspend or restrict the licence held by Deepak Paradkar, citing the “very serious criminal charges” he is facing in the U.S.

MORE: The GTA ‘cocaine_lawyer’ the FBI says advised Ryan Wedding to kill a federal witness

The Law Society of Ontario added that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a significant risk of harm to members of the public and/or to the public interest in the administration of justice” should the order not be granted.

The notice comes following Paradkar’s arrest on numerous criminal charges last week, including allegations that he advised Wedding and a co-accused that the murder of a key witness would result in the case against them being dismissed.

“The criminal charges relate directly to the responding party’s practice in Ontario and provide reasonable grounds to believe that the responding party may have engaged in professional misconduct by acting without integrity and participating in criminal conduct, including but not limited to counselling murder of a prosecution witness, “ the notice states.

U.S authorities have alleged that Paradkar was a key part of Wedding’s alleged operation.

In a 54-page indictment unsealed last week, authorities detailed several instances in which Paradkar allegedly provided Wedding with information about criminal cases to help him investigate cocaine shipments that had been seized by authorities.

The FBI has also alleged that Paradkar allowed Wedding to “covertly” listen in on a call with an alleged drug courier that was arrested in the United States to help determine whether he was cooperating with authorities.

Paradkar aliases include “cocaine_lawyer,” “Deepaj Emergency,” and “Descartes, according to the FBI.

The charges against Paradkar have not been tested in court and he remains in Toronto awaiting extradition proceedings.