Ex-UFC fighter arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking in whopping cocaine sting

A huge cocaine sting has led to the arrest of a former UFC athlete.

Service de police de la Ville de Montréal announced several arrests after launching an investigation that began “last July,” per La Presse. Alex Garcia, who last competed under the UFC banner back in 2018, was among the names arrested and taken to the Montreal courthouse. Michele Laddaga and Victor Julio Sanchez Medrano have also been arrested.

Montreal police are looking for two more suspects, Rattana Sem and Véronique Plouffe. The two have also been accused of unlawful possession of an unloaded firearm. Sem and Plouffe are said to be in a relationship.

Francis Renaud of the SPVM made a comment to La Presse on the massive sting operation.

“It is believed that this network brought several hundred kilograms of cocaine into Montreal,” Renaud said.

Garcia first joined the UFC roster back in 2013. He had a successful promotional debut, scoring a knockout win over Ben Wall in 43 seconds. He followed that up with a split decision victory over Sean Spencer at UFC 171. Garcia ended up dropping a unanimous decision to Neil Magny, but he bounced back with a victory over Mike Swick.

Sean Strickland handed Garcia his second knockout loss in 2016 during a UFC Fight Night card in Pittsburgh. Garcia bounced back later that year with a first-round knockout win over Mike Pyle, which earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Garcia went 1-1 in 2017. He was defeated by Tim Means via unanimous decision in Oklahoma City. “The Dominican Nightmare” ended the year with a rear-naked choke submission win over Muslim Salikhov.

After two straight losses against Ryan LaFlare and Court McGree, Garcia was tossed from the UFC roster. Garcia’s fight with Salikhov ended up being his last pro MMA win. He suffered TKO losses against Ibragim Chuzhigaev and Abdul-Rahman Dzhanaev under the ACA banner.