Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico and will be extradited to the US after years on the run, FBI Director Kash Patel has stated.
Wedding, who had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that moved tonnes of cocaine across international borders.
At 44 years old, Wedding was also wanted on murder charges. US officials believed he was living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa drug cartel.
The head of Canada’s federal police, which assisted in the investigation, praised the law enforcement operation alongside Patel.
No single agency or nation can combat transnational organised crime alone, remarked Mike Duheme, Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). He added, We can finally say that our communities, our countries, are much safer with the arrest of Ryan Wedding. Wedding is expected to appear in court on Monday.
Wedding is accused of operating a vast drug trafficking network responsible for importing approximately 60 metric tonnes of cocaine annually. This organization reportedly operated across North America and several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and it was also the largest cocaine supplier to Canada, with an estimated revenue of $1 billion a year.
Prior to his arrest, Wedding was accused of killing a federal witness in a case against him and was linked to several other murders. He faces multiple felony charges, including witness tampering, intimidation, murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking.
The FBI previously offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture. In recent press statements, Patel characterized Wedding as a modern-day Pablo Escobar, drawing comparisons to infamous cartel leaders like Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán.
Reports specify that Wedding lived in luxury in Mexico, where officials recently seized $40 million in racing motorcycles and valuable artworks linked to him. His Olympic medals remain a subject of mystery, as he competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics without winning a medal.
In November, authorities confiscated his rare 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR, valued at $13 million. Patel also mentioned the recent arrest of Alejandro Castillo, another fugitive connected to murder, also found in Mexico.
