Former Olympian Added to FBI’s Most Wanted List for Alleged Drug Trafficking and Murders
Ryan Wedding, a 43-year-old former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, is accused of leading a violent international drug ring and has been placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
The FBI has added former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, accusing him of running a large-scale, violent drug trafficking operation spanning multiple countries.
Wedding, 43, is alleged to have coordinated the shipment of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to destinations in the U.S. and Canada. Authorities also believe he orchestrated multiple murders and an attempted murder as part of the drug trade.
The U.S. government is offering a reward of up to $10 million (£7.7m) for information leading to his arrest or conviction. While investigators suspect he is hiding in Mexico, they have not ruled out the possibility that he could be in the U.S., Canada, or other parts of Latin America.
It remains unclear whether Wedding has legal representation.
A former professional athlete, Wedding represented Canada in the Giant Slalom snowboarding event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. According to the FBI, he has used several aliases, including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King.”
In June 2024, U.S. authorities in California indicted Wedding and his alleged accomplice, 34-year-old Andrew Clark—also a Canadian—on charges of running a continuing criminal enterprise, committing murder in connection with the operation, and conspiring to distribute and export cocaine.
Clark was arrested by Mexican authorities in October 2023 and was among 29 fugitives extradited to the U.S. last week.
The indictment alleges that Wedding and Clark ordered the murders of two people in Ontario, Canada, on November 20, 2023, as retaliation for a stolen drug shipment routed through Southern California. A third family member survived the attack but sustained serious injuries. The pair is also accused of ordering another murder on May 18, 2024, over a drug debt.
"The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man," said Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. "His addition to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, along with the significant reward offer, will help us enlist the public’s help in capturing him before he harms anyone else."
Authorities continue to search for Wedding and urge anyone with information to come forward.
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