Criminal Past, Luxury Life: Hamdi Lataj's Toronto Tale

0:00Hamdi Lataj, a 62-year-old man of Albanian descent from Kosovo, has a serious criminal history in the United States, including a conviction for. Bank burglary and suspected ties to drug trafficking with Mexican cartel leader El Chapo Guzman. Now living in a luxury Toronto condo tower, he enjoys court side seats at Raptors Games and post photos with high-end cars like Range Rovers and Porsche's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Earlier this year, reports surfaced about his appearance in Canadian rapper Drake's 2023 music video for the song Polar Opposites, where Lataj sits in a mock gambling den wearing a jacket with the Albanian flag eagle. The video has drawn millions of views online, spotlighting his flashy life in Canada despite his past. In the U.S., Lataj entered illegally in 1986, faced failed asylum claims and served two years in federal prison after a 2000, one Brooklyn bank-high's conviction.

1:00Deportation orders followed, but he appealed citing a family blood feud in Kosovo eventually making his way north. Meanwhile, Canadian police files from his earliest 2013 flag him in cocaine trafficking probes linked to El Chapo networks in a 20. 19 gambling and money laundering investigation involving Italy's Andre Hayda Mafia and Hell's Angels. No charges or convictions have stuck here. Both Lataj and Drake are big Raptors fans, often spotted at games, but there's no proof of a deeper friendship. Neither responded to questions about the video or ties, leaving many wondering how someone with his background blends so seamlessly into Toronto's. Elite Circles Local News, powered by AI. This is Vancouver News Today. I'm Corey with the story.