After years of evading authorities, Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug kingpin, has been arrested in Mexico and will be extradited to the United States. The 44-year-old was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that moved tonnes of cocaine across international borders.
Wedding, who had been living under the protection of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, is now facing a slew of felony charges, including witness tampering, intimidation, murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking. The FBI had previously placed a $15 million (£11 million) reward for information leading to his arrest.
In a joint operation involving Canadian and Mexican authorities, Wedding was apprehended on Thursday night in Mexico City. FBI Director Kash Patel described the arrest as a “complex, high-stakes operation with zero margin for error,” praising the extraordinary teamwork and precision of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team and their Mexican counterparts.
Patel likened Wedding to “a modern-day Pablo Escobar,” referring to the notorious Colombian cartel leader. US officials have also compared him to Mexican drug dealer Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, highlighting the scale and sophistication of his alleged criminal enterprise.
According to authorities, Wedding’s organisation operated across North America, as well as several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, generating an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue. Before his arrest, he was accused of killing a federal witness in a case against him and ordering the murders of several others.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner, Mike Duheme, praised the law enforcement operation, stating that “no single agency or nation can combat transnational organised crime alone.” He added, “We can finally say that our communities, our countries, are much safer with the arrest of Ryan Wedding.”
Wedding is expected to make his first court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday. The details of his capture remain limited, but Mexican authorities have confirmed that he “voluntarily surrendered” at the US embassy in Mexico City.
The arrest of Ryan Wedding represents a significant victory in the fight against transnational organised crime. With his extradition to the US, authorities hope to bring justice to the victims of his alleged criminal empire and disrupt the flow of illegal drugs across international borders.