Canadian citizen arrested in Medellín on drug trafficking and weapons charges
A Canadian national wanted by authorities from three countries was arrested in Colombia whilst exercising at an upmarket sports facility.
Canadian citizen arrested in Medellín on drug trafficking and weapons charges
A Canadian national wanted by authorities from three countries was arrested in Colombia whilst exercising at an upmarket sports facility. The arrest of Arif Jhuman, 39, took place on Wednesday in Medellín, where he had been living under the false identity of Gillani.
The operation was carried out by special units of Colombian security forces, who raided the gymnasium of an exclusive shopping complex. Images released by Defence Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez show the detainee handcuffed and escorted by armed agents.
Jhuman had been a fugitive for more than three years. In April 2023, the Ontario Provincial Police issued a national arrest warrant against him for breach of sentence. At that time, he was serving a sentence of nearly ten years for drug offences.
At the same time, the federal prosecutor's office in Tampa, Florida, named him as one of five defendants in a weapons smuggling network operating between the United States and Canada. The declassified American investigation, released in December, reveals that the organisation intended to transfer more than one hundred pistols and assault rifles into Canadian territory, mainly to Ontario.
Twenty-nine of those weapons were subsequently found at various crime scenes in Canada, three of them homicides. The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives designated the gang as a transnational criminal organisation that promoted violence for profit.
According to Colombian police, the fugitive entered the South American country during 2025 carrying forged documentation. He now remains in custody whilst extradition procedures are determined, with it unclear whether he will be handed over to Washington or Ottawa.
Medellín's mayor, Fico Gutiérrez, emphasised following the arrest that his city would not serve as a hideout for international criminals.
Source: CBC News
Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)