WASHINGTOM (RTWNews) — Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder representing Canada, is now at the center of a grave legal battle as authorities confirm new charges linked to the murder of a federal witness and his operation of an international drug trafficking network. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the developments on Wednesday, revealing that a federal indictment has been unsealed in California, highlighting Wedding's orchestration of the fatal January shooting.
Wedding allegedly sought to eliminate the witness in Colombia to evade extradition to the United States. In a significant turn of events, ten co-defendants have been apprehended under the same charges. The FBI, recognizing the severity of these crimes, has placed Wedding on its '10 Most Wanted list', offering a massive reward of up to $15 million for any information leading to his capture.
Currently believed to be residing in Mexico, Wedding is reportedly receiving support from the infamous Sinaloa cartel, with whom he is allegedly collaborating to smuggle severe amounts of drugs into Canada and the U.S. Attorney General Bondi has made it very clear that all individuals involved in such activities will face consequences: “Whether you are a street-level drug dealer or an international drug kingpin, we are coming for you.”
Wedding, known by various aliases including El Jefe and Public Enemy, was accused in 2024 of heading a drug ring that traffics approximately 60 tons of cocaine annually. The drugs are reportedly transported using long-haul trucks across a network spanning Colombia, Mexico, Southern California, and into Canada.
This chilling case has seen the defendants utilizing a Canadian website named “the Dirty News” to expose the witness, who was later hunted down and killed in a Medellín restaurant. Authorities state that Wedding was under the misguided belief that removing this witness would dismiss charges against him and fortify his position against extradition.
In a joint effort with U.S. authorities, a reward of up to $2 million is also being offered for information leading to the arrest of others involved in the witness's killing. Bill Essayli, the head prosecutor for the Central District of California, asserted, “He was wrong,” emphasizing the determination to apprehend Wedding and his associates.
