Katay-Khaophone Sychanta
© ICEKatay-Khaophone Sychanta
Two bike cops in Montreal arrested one of America's most wanted criminals - the alleged ringleader of a drug-smuggling organization who has been on the lam for a dozen years, authorities said.

Katay-Khaophone Sychanta, 35, was collared by officers who suspected him and another man of possessing drugs during an encounter on a bike path patrol in Montreal's Saint-Laurent section on Wednesday. Sychanta tried to run, but was captured after a brief chase, CBC News reports.

Sychanta, a native of Laos who had been on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement list of its 10 most wanted criminals, gave the officer fake US identification, but his true identity was revealed back at a police station, where he was fingerprinted.

Sychanta - whose last name is also spelled Sychantha, CBC News reports - had been sought by authorities after evading capture following his 2005 indictment in the Eastern District of Michigan for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. His last known location was Lakeshore, Canada, according to his most-wanted poster that now lists him as arrested.

"Following this indictment, Sychantha evaded capture and continued to supervise a drug smuggling organization based in the Windsor, Canada area," the wanted poster reads. "In 2013, Sychantha's continued illicit activity led to a second indictment in the Eastern District of Michigan for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance."

Sychanta allegedly operated a drug-smuggling ring that brought millions of ecstasy pills and hundreds of pounds of marijuana into New York, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Georgia, CBC News reports.

Sychanta has a "history of violence" and has allegedly made threats against Homeland Security Investigation special agents and other law enforcement officials, according to ICE officials. Prior to his arrest, Sychanta was thought to be hiding somewhere in the United States, Canada, Mexico or Asia and was considered armed and dangerous.

He appeared in a Montreal court Thursday and was charged with drug possession, obstructing the work of a police officer and using a forged document. Sychanta has since been transferred into the custody of Ontario Provincial Police and may be extradited to the United States.