Man arrested for drug offences a day after pleading guilty to trafficking

A Winnipeg man has again been charged with drug-trafficking offences, only a day after he admitted in court to dealing illicit opioids and laundering illegal proceeds at casinos.

Mohammad Riyadul Hoque, 32, pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl and laundering proceeds of crime in front of Court of King’s Bench Justice Sheldon Lanchbery on Monday.

He was ensnared in a large-scale RCMP probe looking at his drug trafficking and money laundering at Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries casinos in September 2023.

Hoque was again arrested by Mounties on Tuesday after another lengthy probe that began in March 2025. RCMP said he was found with 147 grams of crack cocaine, 70 pills that are believed to be fentanyl and others pills suspected to be oxycodone.

The drugs were packaged for individual drug sales, RCMP said Friday.

Hoque has been charged with possession of fentanyl and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime and failing to comply with conditions of a release order. He remained in RCMP custody as of Wednesday.

Several unmarked law-enforcement vehicles could be seen outside Hoque’s home on Denson Place in Winnipeg’s Minto neighbourhood on Tuesday, along with officers with a battering ram.

A search of the home found cash and cellphones believed to be tied to the drug trade. Another man, 28, was arrested for cocaine possession and released on conditions.

RCMP are still investigating.

Hoque is expected to be sentenced later this year for the crimes to which he pleaded guilty this week. His defence lawyer, Saul Simmonds, said Monday that he and federal drug Crown prosecutor Matt Sinclair intend to jointly recommend a “substantial” penitentiary term. Sentences of two years or more are served in federal prison.

Hoque might face consequences from federal immigration officials because of the length of the sentence being sought, Simmonds said Monday. Hoque’s immigration status is not clear.

The provincial government is seeking to retain some of Hoque’s properties and vehicles, which investigators believe he bought with drug money, through a civil forfeiture lawsuit filed in 2023 amid the initial investigation.

Mounties have said in civil court documents that Hoque laundered more than $10 million at Winnipeg casinos over three years beginning in 2021.

The civil court papers said the RCMP’s first investigation into Hoque began in October 2022.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca