Former UFC star Alex Garcia, who competed for the promotion ten times from 2013 to 2018, has been swept up in a massive drug bust in Montreal, Quebec in Canada.
In a French language press release issued on December 10 that flew under the radar initially, Garcia, real name Lenin Garcia Ciriaco, was among three men arrested in a multi-premises raid that saw the fighter and two co-conspirators nabbed for possession and distribution of drugs including heroin, cocaine, and GHB (commonly known as the date-rape drug).
The value of the cocaine and heroin alone was estimated by Montreal Police to be approximately $2.3 million CAD.
Over $300,000 in cash, three firearms, and two vehicles were also seized. Garcia, 38, faces charges of drug trafficking and receiving proceeds of crime. Victor Julio Sanchez Medrano, 45, faces those same charges, while Michele Laddaga, 49, faces drug trafficking and possession charges.
Two suspects remain at large in the case, which saw raids take place in the boroughs of Lachine, LaSalle, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Ville-Marie and Saint-Laurent, as well as in the city of Lorraine. Arrest warrants have been issued for Rattana Sem, 40, Véronique Plouffe, 37, his wife.
According to police, the investigation by the Anti-Gang Unit of the Organized Crime Section of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) began in July 2025, and identified Toronto as a “supply point” of the narcotics, which were transported to Montreal and sold at higher prices.
Garcia, who competed mostly at welterweight, shared the cage with the likes of Sean Strickland, Mike “Quick” Swick, Tim Means, and Muslim Salikhov during his time with the UFC, posting a 5-5 record across ten fights. He exited the promotion off back-to-back losses against Ryan LaFlare and Court McGee in 2018, then went on to a brief stint with ACA, posting an 0-2 record there. His last recorded action was a loss to Abdul-Rakhman Dzhanaev in March of 2020.
Originally from Santiago, Dominican Republic, Garcia trained at Montreal’s famed TriStar Gym alongside the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Aiemann Zahabi and others.
