Former Canadian Olympian Ryan Wedding, 44, was arrested in Mexico City and extradited to the U.S. after being placed on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list. A federal indictment unsealed in November charges him with nine counts, including drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder, witness tampering and money laundering. Prosecutors say his organization shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to the U.S. and Canada; the State Department had offered up to $15 million for information leading to his capture.
Former Olympian Ryan Wedding Arrested In Mexico, Extradited To U.S. On Drug And Murder Charges
A recent photo of Ryan Wedding from 2025, and one of him competing in the 2002 Winter Olympics.(Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Dept. of Justice, Jeff J Mitchell/Reuters)
Ryan Wedding, a 44-year-old former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who was added to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list in March, was arrested in Mexico City and returned to U.S. custody, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Authorities say Wedding led a violent transnational cocaine-trafficking organization that moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to destinations in the United States and Canada. A federal indictment unsealed in November charges him with nine counts, including conspiracy to distribute, possess and export cocaine; conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise; witness tampering; and money laundering.
A poster indicating Wedding’s capture.(FBI.gov)
FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters at Ontario International Airport in Southern California that Wedding was taken into custody Thursday night in Mexico City and flown to the U.S. Officials believe he had been living in Mexico for more than a decade and may have been protected by the Sinaloa cartel.
Patel said: "Just to tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco trafficker in modern times. He is a modern-day El Chapo. He is a modern-day Pablo Escobar. He thought he could evade justice."
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X that, at her direction, Department of Justice agents and the FBI apprehended Wedding. Bill Essayli, assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, confirmed that Wedding is now in U.S. custody and will "face the full force of justice for his charges." Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said Wedding will remain detained over the weekend and is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Monday.
Wedding in 2024.(Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: FBI.gov)
Prosecutors allege Wedding ordered multiple murders to advance his trafficking operation. Investigators say Wedding and associates posted a photograph of a murder witness on a Canadian website called the Dirty News; that witness was later shot and killed in a Medellín restaurant in January 2025, according to prosecutors.
The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs initially offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Wedding’s capture; that reward was increased to $15 million in November. As part of an investigation dubbed "Operation Giant Slalom," authorities arrested 10 related suspects and seized high-value assets, including a Mercedes-Benz described by officials as worth an estimated $15 million, dozens of motorcycles, jewelry and artwork.
Wedding — who used aliases such as "El Jefe," "Giant" and "Public Enemy" — represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, finishing 24th in the parallel giant slalom. Patel also said another fugitive, Alejandro Castillo, who was captured in Mexico last week and is being extradited to North Carolina on a 2016 murder charge, was transported on the same flight as Wedding; officials said Castillo’s arrest was unrelated to Wedding’s capture.
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