Canada’s Project Pelican: $50 million drug bust exposes ISI-Khalistani nexus linked to anti-India activities

Canada's Project Pelican (Image: X Peel regional police)

Canadian police have busted a large drug and terror network with suspected links to Khalistan supporters under investigation called Project Pelican.

Led by Peel Regional Police, the investigation resulted in Canada’s largest-ever drug seizure - 479 kg of cocaine valued at $47.9 million and the arrest of nine individuals, including seven men of Indian origin residing in Canada.

"A total of 479 kg of bricked cocaine, worth an estimated $47.9 million, was seized, along with two illegal loaded semi-automatic handguns. The accused were held for a bail hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton," the Peel police said.

Project Pelican marks the largest drug bust in our services history, with nearly $50 million in cocaine seized and a major transnational organized crime network dismantled.This success was made possible through @PeelPolices outstanding collaboration with @CanBorder, DEA, pic.twitter.com/lkhpgxfupd
Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) June 10, 2025

The money from the drug trade was used to fund anti-India activities like protests, referendums, and weapons purchases, revealed the sources. Intelligence agencies suspect the network was backed by Pakistan’s ISI, which allegedly used Khalistani groups in Canada to smuggle Mexican cocaine and Afghan heroin.

The individuals arrested have been identified as: Sajgith Yogendrarajah (31), Manpreet Singh (44), Philip Tep (39), Arvinder Powar (29), Karamjit Singh (36), Gurtej Singh (36), Sartaj Singh (27), Shiv Onkar Singh (31), and Hao Tommy Huynh (27).

Canadian police stated that the individuals face a total of 35 charges related to drug and firearm offences.

About Project Pelican

Project Pelican was launched in 2024 by Peel Regional Police to investigate a cocaine smuggling network operating through commercial trucking routes between the U.S. and Canada reports Times of India.

By November, with support from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security’s Border Enforcement Task Force in Detroit, authorities identified several individuals, trucking companies, and storage facilities connected to the operation.

Two Canadian nationals of Indian origin were arrested by Illinois State Police last December after over 1,000 pounds of cocaine were discovered in their Volvo truck cited Toi report.

This alerted the investigators to the smuggling ring involving ISI which patronised illegal poppy cultivation in Afghanistan to help Taliban fight the US and Afghan troops.

Between February and May 2025, authorities made major drug seizures, including 127 kg of cocaine at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor and 50 kg at the Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward, according to a statement from Peel Police. Additional seizures took place across the Greater Toronto Area, where some suspects were also found with loaded firearms.