Former Olympic Snowboarder Wanted in US Drug Trafficking Case
Ryan James Wedding, a 43-year-old former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, has been charged with leading a large-scale drug trafficking operation that transported significant quantities of cocaine across the Americas, resulting in multiple fatalities. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his capture and extradition, as he is currently a fugitive residing in Mexico.
Wedding’s syndicate allegedly facilitated the movement of large cocaine shipments originating from Colombia, traversing through Mexico and California en route to Canada and additional destinations within the United States. The group is accused of trafficking approximately 60 tons of cocaine annually and using long-haul semi-trucks for transportation.
The indictment includes charges of murder, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and various other offenses. Authorities have made approximately a dozen arrests across Florida, Michigan, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico in connection with this investigation. The group is also accused of using contract killers to assassinate anyone who got in their way, including two family members in Canada as an act of vengeance for a stolen drug shipment, which officials characterized as a case of mistaken identity.
During the investigation, authorities seized cocaine, firearms, ammunition, cash, and over $3 million in cryptocurrency. Wedding faces unresolved drug trafficking allegations in Canada dating back to 2015 and was previously convicted in the United States for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 2010. If convicted of murder and attempted murder charges, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison.
