Ryan Wedding, ex-Olympic snowboarder accused of being a drug kingpin, is arrested
Ryan Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder allegedly behind one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations, was arrested, two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told NBC News on Friday.
Wedding, 44, was wanted by the FBI on charges of running a transnational drug trafficking organization responsible for importing about 60 metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semitrucks from Mexico, Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said at a news conference.
FBI Director Kash Patel had compared Wedding to the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, notorious leader of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel.
In March, Wedding was added to the FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted” list of fugitives, and there was a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or prosecution.
Authorities will announce more details on his arrest at a Friday morning news conference.
The former athlete was charged in a September 2024 superseding indictment with attempted murder and other counts related to the alleged drug enterprise. In November, a grand jury indictment was unsealed charging him in the death of a federal witness who was supposed to testify against him.
The witness was fatally shot at a restaurant after authorities said Wedding “placed a bounty” on his head and used a Canadian website to find the witness and his wife.
Court documents allege that Wedding’s crime spree began in 2008, six years after he represented Canada in the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Federal prosecutors said he traveled to San Diego with two other men to buy cocaine, according to the documents. The dealer the men had arranged to meet with was working undercover for the FBI. Wedding was arrested and found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine following a November 2009 trial. He was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and was released in December 2011, court records show.
Federal law enforcement said in the unsealed indictment that he founded his criminal drug enterprise after his release.
Last month, authorities in Mexico seized dozens of motorcycles worth an estimated $40 million that Wedding was believed to own. They also seized two Olympic medals, two vehicles, drugs, artwork, and other items at various locations in Mexico City.
Authorities had said they believed Wedding was hiding out in Mexico and was being protected by the Sinaloa cartel.