Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been arrested after evading authorities for years, U.S. officials confirmed on Friday.
Wedding, 44, was wanted for allegedly running a vast transnational drug‑trafficking organization that investigators say moved staggering quantities of cocaine across the U.S.–Mexico border. American officials have accused him of overseeing a pipeline capable of importing roughly 60 metric tons of cocaine per year into the Los Angeles area using semitrucks operating out of Mexico.
The FBI had elevated Wedding to its Ten Most Wanted list in March, placing a $15‑million reward on information leading to his arrest or prosecution — one of the highest bounties ever offered for a fugitive with Canadian ties.
“Wedding was flown to the United States, where he will face justice,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday. “This is a direct result of President [Donald] Trump’s law-and-order leadership.”
FBI Director Kash Patel publicly compared Wedding to notorious cartel leaders such as Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, citing both the volume of drugs allegedly moved and the violence associated with the organization.
“Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice,” added Bondi. “We are grateful to our incredible Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for assisting us in this case.”
In raids carried out in Mexico City and the surrounding state of Mexico, U.S. authorities seized dozens of high-end motorcycles believed to belong to Wedding, valued at an estimated US$40 million.
Other items seized included two vehicles, artwork and what Mexican authorities described as two Olympic medals.
U.S. officials say Wedding’s alleged trafficking operation rivalled major cartels
Wedding represented Canada in snowboarding at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. After his athletic career ended, investigators say he turned to organized crime, building a narcotics empire that Bondi has described as “one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in this world.”
New indictments announced in November accuse Wedding of ordering the murder of a federal witness, who was shot five times in the head before he could testify against him. Among the seven people arrested in Canada was Wedding’s attorney, Deepak Paradkar, who allegedly advised him to have the witness killed.
Authorities said Wedding and co-conspirators used a Canadian website called “The Dirty News” to post a photograph of the witness so he could be identified and killed. The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medellín in January and shot in the head.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Wedding faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015.
Wedding was previously convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010, federal records show.
