A former Olympic athlete turned alleged cartel kingpin is finally in custody. Ryan Wedding, once a Canadian Olympic snowboarder, has been arrested in Mexico after years as one of the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives—now facing sweeping U.S. charges tied to transnational drug trafficking and multiple murders.
U.S. officials say Wedding surrendered at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and was swiftly flown to California, ending a decade-long hunt. The Federal Bureau of Investigation alleges Wedding ran a billion-dollar cocaine pipeline moving as much as 60 tons of cocaine annually from Colombia through Mexico and into the United States and Canada—under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel.
FBI Director Kash Patel called Wedding “the modern-day El Chapo,” accusing him of orchestrating a criminal empire that blended elite logistics, cartel muscle, and ruthless violence. Federal indictments link Wedding to the killings of a federal witness and three others, including executions allegedly ordered to settle stolen shipments and drug debts.
Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics before his fall from sport to crime. He was previously convicted in the U.S. in 2010 for cocaine distribution conspiracy, served prison time, and later resurfaced as the alleged mastermind of what prosecutors describe as the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada. Authorities say his network stored narcotics in Southern California before shipping them north, while coordinating assassinations across borders to silence threats.
The arrest followed more than a year of coordination among U.S., Mexican, Canadian, Colombian, and Dominican authorities. Wedding was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list last year, with a $15 million reward offered for information leading to his capture. In total, investigators say 36 people tied to the operation have been arrested, with massive seizures of drugs, weapons, cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and artwork.
Wedding is expected to appear in federal court in California on Monday. Prosecutors signal this is only the beginning of a case that could reshape how authorities pursue elite-level traffickers who hide behind international borders—and former fame.
