Ryan James Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder allegedly behind one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations, was arrested Thursday night in Mexico, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Authorities believe Wedding, 44, is a member of the Sinaloa Cartel and had been hiding in Mexico for over a decade while “running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation,” Patel said Friday in a post on X.
Patel said Wedding allegedly shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California to the U.S. and Canada.
He had compared Wedding to the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, notorious leader of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wedding was flown to the United States, “where he will face justice.”
“Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice. We are grateful to our incredible Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for assisting us in this case,” Bondi said in a post on X.
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.
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.