Canadian fugitive arrested in Mexico after four years on the run in major drug trafficking

Mexican authorities have arrested a Canadian man who had been wanted since 2022 for his alleged role in an international drug trafficking network that smuggled cartel drugs into Manitoba.

Denis Ivziku, 28, originally from British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, was taken into custody on May 14 in the state of Quintana Roo, according to a statement from Canada’s Justice Department. He is now facing extradition proceedings on Canadian charges that include conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime.

Ivziku had been a fugitive since Manitoba RCMP announced charges in connection with “Project Divergent”—a multi-year investigation launched in 2018 that infiltrated a trafficking operation moving large volumes of Mexican cartel drugs into Manitoba for distribution across the country. Police announced 20 arrests in 2022, but Ivziku had fled.

Court documents reveal that Ivziku, also known as “Menace,” “Elvis P,” and “Super Gremlin,” is the brother-in-law of Damion Ryan, a high-ranking Hells Angels member found guilty last year of conspiring to traffic methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl. During Ryan’s trial, court heard that Ivziku sold multiple kilograms of methamphetamine to an RCMP informant.

Mexican authorities described the arrested individual only as “Denis N.” in a May 15 news release, with local media identifying him as Ivziku. The release alleged the man was among the “main perpetrators of violence at an international scale” and the leader of a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking and extortion, operating under the guise of a motorcycle club.

The arrest followed an exchange of information between Mexican authorities and the RCMP. Interpol had also issued a notice for the man, who faces an outstanding extradition order.