Extradition hearings set for Winnipeg men accused in U.S. fake drug case

Extradition hearing dates have been set for five Winnipeg men accused of illegally importing and selling $78 million worth of misbranded and counterfeit drugs to American doctors from 2009 to 2012.

Kristjan Thorkelson, Thomas Haughton, Ronald Sigurdson, Darren Chalus andTroy Nakamura will be in the ManitobaCourt of Queen's Bench the week of May 7, 2018. A hearing date for James Trueman is expected to be set in Vancouver next week.

"The judge may make a decision from the bench immediately, but may also take time to review the information presented," Ian McLeod, manager of media relations and litigation communications with the federal Department of Justice, wrote in an email.

Thorkelsonis the owner and CEO ofCanadaDrugs.com.Sigurdson is the company's CFO.Haughtonis president of two CanadaDrugs subsidiaries operating in Barbados and the U.K.. Chalus isdirector of clinical sales for CanadaDrugs and Nakamura is theclinical manager for CanadaDrugs.

Trueman isaccused of serving as a liaison between CanadaDrugs and its drop shippers in Illinoisand Washington state.

The men were arrested under theExtradition Actin Manitoba and British Columbia in June. They were released on bail, on conditionsincluding surrendering their passports and not moving without notifying authorities.

In 2014, U.S. federal prosecutors laid charges of smuggling, conspiracyand international money laundering against the men, CanadaDrugs.comand affiliated companies and associates in the United Kingdom and Barbados.

At the time, a CanadaDrugs.com manager acknowledged shipping and distributing vials of the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin, but said he didn't know the drug was counterfeit.

It was found to contain cornstarch and acetone but no active ingredients.

In 2015, RCMP officers raided the Winnipeg offices of CanadaDrugs.com and assets in one bank account were seized.

American federal prosecutors have also put a hold on four bank accounts in Canada, the United Kingdom and Barbados "to assure the availability of the funds for forfeiture in the event of the defendants' conviction."

Court documents show RCMPhadfive Winnipeg homes under surveillance as recently as May.

The claims have not been proven in court.

If convicted, the mencould face up to 20 years in prison and fines.

CanadaDrugs.com is a Winnipeg-based company that is still operating and is licensed by the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba.

At the extradition hearings, the judge will decide whether the evidence is strong enough to commit the men to trial if the alleged activity had happened in Canada. If the judge is satisfied, they will be ordered extradited.

Butthat's not the end of the process.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould will make the final decision whether to surrender them to U.S. authoritiesto face trial, and the men can make submissions to her before she makes that decision.

They also have the right to apply for judicial review of the minister's decision and the extradition hearing decisionto the Court of Appeal.

If thosedecisions to extradite arestill upheld, they can then appealto the Supreme Court of Canada.

Lawyers for the men could notbe reached Friday afternoonor said they couldn't comment while the case is before the courts.