A former Olympic snowboarder has been charged in connection with a drug smuggling operation that reportedly transported large quantities of narcotics across borders and resulted in four fatalities, according to the FBI.
The FBI has announced a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of Ryan James Wedding, 43, who represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He is currently deemed an armed and dangerous fugitive.
Wedding, a Canadian citizen residing in Mexico, is one of 16 individuals indicted in California for running a “transnational drug trafficking operation” that frequently shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine throughout the Americas, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stated.
Estrada noted that the leaders of this operation “orchestrated multiple murders to further their drug trafficking activities.”
Known by various aliases including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” Wedding faces eight felony charges, previously indicted for running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder, and conspiracy to possess, distribute, and export cocaine.
Another man involved, Andrew Clark, 34, also a Canadian living in Mexico and known as “the Dictator,” was arrested on October 8 by Mexican authorities and remains in custody. Both men could face life sentences if convicted. Several other gang members have been apprehended and are expected to appear in court soon in locations including Los Angeles, Michigan, and Miami.
Prosecutors allege that the gang managed to transport as much as 827 pounds of cocaine in a single month, moving it from Mexico to Southern California and then to Ontario, Canada.
The cocaine trafficking organization is said to have used stash houses to store the drugs before distributing them through a network of couriers via long-haul semi-trucks.
Wedding and Clark are also charged with directing the murders of two individuals in Ontario in November 2023 as retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.
U.S. Attorney Estrada remarked that the case reflects a dramatic transition for an Olympic athlete turned leader of a transnational crime syndicate involved in drug trafficking and murder, including the deaths of innocent civilians.
Matthew Allen, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles, highlighted the violent nature of the drug trafficking gang, stating that it has led to “an avalanche of violent crimes, including brutal murders.” He noted that Wedding shifted from competing on slopes to a life filled with criminal activities.
During the investigation, conducted in cooperation with LAPD in Ontario, law enforcement has confiscated over a ton of cocaine, three firearms, numerous rounds of ammunition, more than $250,000 in cash, and over $3.2 million in cryptocurrency.