Recent revelations have cast a troubling light on the Canadian government's efforts to combat transnational organized crime, particularly concerning fentanyl trafficking. Law enforcement officials from both the United States and Canada have voiced explosive concerns, suggesting that Canadian authorities, including the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), have failed to adequately tackle the growing menace of Asian organized crime and fentanyl distribution. The United States, alarmed by systemic corruption and legal barriers in Canada, has begun to withhold intelligence and limit collaboration with Canadian law enforcement. These actions, insiders reveal, are the result of rising distrust and mounting frustration with Canada's perceived inability to confront powerful criminal networks.

For years, Canada’s handling of fentanyl trafficking has been a point of contention between U.S. officials and their Canadian counterparts. Though some criticisms may have been politically motivated, particularly during the Trump administration, the U.S. government’s concerns about Canada's law enforcement capabilities are rooted in unsettling facts. High-ranking U.S. law enforcement veterans have gone on record to suggest that Canadian law enforcement has been compromised at the highest levels, with corruption and inefficiencies hampering investigations into major criminal organizations, including those responsible for fentanyl trafficking.

At the heart of these allegations is the case of Cameron Ortis, the former director of intelligence at the RCMP, who was convicted of leaking highly sensitive intelligence, including Five Eyes signals intelligence, to foreign actors. Ortis’s actions, which were initially linked to Iranian state-sponsored criminals, are believed to have extended to investigations involving Chinese espionage as well. While Ortis’s case is still shrouded in secrecy, it serves as a disturbing example of how Canada’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been infiltrated. This has raised alarm within the U.S., which has increasingly sidelined Canada from sensitive operations involving drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime.

Former and current law enforcement officials from both sides of the border point to a recurring pattern of obstruction within Canadian agencies. One Canadian policing expert revealed that U.S. officials have repeatedly flagged specific CBSA officers they suspect of corruption, but these individuals were allowed to retain their security clearances. According to this expert, these concerns were raised directly with senior CBSA officials, but the situation remained unresolved. Worse still, during joint meetings with American law enforcement agencies, these suspected individuals were allowed to attend, which led to an incident where the U.S. investigators walked out in disgust. This incident, the expert noted, epitomized the growing rift between American and Canadian law enforcement.

The expert also described the perception that CBSA, as a whole, has become ineffective in tackling the real problems at the Canadian border. Historically, the agency has focused on minor infractions, like families smuggling alcohol or cigarettes, while turning a blind eye to larger criminal operations. The expert criticized the agency for failing to take significant action against drug cartels, suggesting that U.S. agencies, such as Homeland Security, had no respect for the CBSA and viewed its agents as ineffective. While not all CBSA officers are incompetent, the expert argued that the overall inefficiency and corruption within the agency have made it difficult to tackle more serious issues, such as fentanyl trafficking.

This sense of disarray extends beyond Canada’s border services and into the country’s political sphere. Surveillance operations have reportedly raised concerns about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a former cabinet minister being in close proximity to individuals linked to Asian organized crime. Law enforcement sources have described situations where figures associated with these criminal groups attended Liberal fundraisers, raising questions about the influence of organized crime on Canada’s political landscape. While there is no direct evidence implicating Trudeau or any other politician in wrongdoing, these associations have alarmed veteran enforcement officials. The fact that powerful criminal syndicates have vast resources, the expert noted, means they can exert influence on high-profile political figures.

Despite these troubling revelations, some enforcement veterans emphasized the quality of U.S. intelligence operations. According to one former U.S. official, American agencies have used cutting-edge intelligence techniques to combat international drug networks, and they are well aware of the shortcomings within Canada’s law enforcement. This, the official argued, is why U.S. agencies have increasingly excluded Canada from some of their most sensitive investigations. The decision to withhold intelligence, they explained, was partly motivated by Canada’s reluctance to address serious corruption within its own ranks and its failure to cooperate on matters of national security.

For over a decade, U.S. officials have been frustrated by Canada’s legal framework, which, according to insiders, prioritizes protecting the RCMP from embarrassment rather than protecting the Canadian public from dangerous criminal organizations. This legal framework, U.S. experts allege, has significantly hampered cooperation between U.S. and Canadian agencies. There have been numerous instances in which intelligence sharing was blocked or delayed by Canadian disclosure laws, leading to serious operational setbacks.

A major point of contention between U.S. and Canadian authorities is the case of Sam Gor, one of the world’s most powerful drug-trafficking syndicates. The Sam Gor organization, also known as “The Company,” is a sophisticated network with links to the Chinese Communist Party and extensive operations in both Asia and North America. The syndicate is responsible for trafficking vast quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, and it has been deeply involved in money laundering. According to sources familiar with the case, Australia had warned Canada about the Sam Gor threat long before the RCMP acknowledged it as a significant transnational crime syndicate.

Sam Gor’s activities in Canada were exposed during the E-Pirate investigation, one of Canada’s largest-ever money laundering probes. The investigation, which uncovered a network of illegal transactions involving British Columbia government casinos and Chinese bank accounts, was directly linked to Sam Gor. However, the investigation came to a halt in late 2019 after a police witness was exposed, and the case collapsed in federal court. This high-profile failure has left Sam Gor’s leaders free to continue their operations, including fentanyl trafficking and money laundering, without facing significant resistance from Canadian law enforcement.

Veteran law enforcement officials claim that U.S. agencies were willing to take on the case and provide invaluable intelligence related to Sam Gor’s activities, but Canadian officials failed to act. One expert pointed to the U.S. intelligence community’s involvement in uncovering the vast network of illicit funds flowing through Canadian casinos, but ultimately, the Canadian investigation stalled due to bureaucratic delays and shifting priorities dictated by Ottawa. This failure, they argue, highlights the systemic issues that have plagued Canada’s law enforcement and their inability to combat organized crime effectively.

The consequences of these failures are dire. As fentanyl continues to flow from Canada into the United States, the American government has grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of action from Canadian authorities. As one expert put it, Canada is no longer seen as a reliable partner in the fight against transnational organized crime. For U.S. law enforcement officials, the stakes are high, and Canada’s continued inaction threatens both countries’ security and public safety. The U.S. is now taking steps to address the fentanyl crisis without relying on Canadian cooperation, a move that will likely have long-term implications for the bilateral relationship between the two nations.

In the end, these revelations paint a grim picture of Canada’s law enforcement and political leadership. Whether due to corruption, inefficiency, or legal barriers, Canada’s inability to confront organized crime has eroded the trust of U.S. authorities. As the fentanyl epidemic continues to claim lives across North America, the need for decisive action and renewed cooperation between U.S. and Canadian agencies has never been more urgent. Without meaningful reform, Canada risks further alienating its allies and undermining its credibility as a partner in global law enforcement efforts.