BC Fentanyl Ring ‘Negotiated’ With Sinaloa Chief ‘El Mayo,’ Court Filings Allege

Bust in Surrey included seizures of Mexican passports, fentanyl, arsenal of weapons in fortified compound with Chinese Hikvision security systems

VANCOUVER, Canada — A new high-profile British Columbia money laundering case targets an alleged Sinaloa Cartel–linked fentanyl and cocaine trafficking cell established in a mansion near the U.S. border. Court filings say the group was capable of negotiating significant cocaine importation deals with Ismael Garcia—known as “El Mayo”—the reputed Sinaloa Cartel chief.

According to the filings, the Canada-based syndicate comprised at least three men, including Hector Chavez-Anchondo. The lawsuit, filed yesterday by the Director of Civil Forfeiture, contends that they belonged to a violent drug trafficking organization that “used and continues to use violence, or threats of violence, to achieve its aims.”

Investigators allege that the Sinaloa Cartel-linked gang trafficked a range of controlled substances, including ketamine, methamphetamine, Xanax, oxycodone, MDMA, and fentanyl.

“As part of these efforts, the drug trafficking organization has agreed to, and made arrangements to, purchase cocaine from the Cártel de Sinaloa in Mexico,” the filings say. They add that “the Sinaloa Cartel is a terrorist entity, and the government of Canada listed it as such on February 20, 2025.”

Though no criminal convictions have been reported in connection with this lawsuit—first covered by the Vancouver Sun—Canada’s connection of this investigation to the Sinaloa Cartel, along with its designation of the cartel as a terrorist organization, could have significant implications for high-level discussions between the Trump Administration and Ottawa. Washington has intensified pressure on Canada over alleged failures to curb fentanyl trafficking networks, with the dispute escalating into sweeping tariffs amid a mounting trade war.