WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and a fugitive once listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted, has been arrested and transferred into US custody, according to officials.
Ryan had a $15 million reward tied to his capture after being indicted for allegedly leading a criminal enterprise that involved cocaine trafficking and murder. Authorities said the case spans the US, Canada, Mexico, and Colombia.
Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said in a post on X that Ryan Wedding voluntarily surrendered before being turned over to the FBI. García Harfuch described the transfer as part of a coordinated effort with US officials and said a Canadian citizen surrendered at the United States Embassy before being handed over.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at a Friday press conference that Wedding was taken into custody in Mexico late Thursday. Officials said he had been living in Mexico for more than a decade and was tied to the Sinaloa Cartel’s cocaine operation, which authorities allege moved drugs from Colombia to the US and Canada.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously said Wedding’s alleged network generated more than $1 billion a year in illegal drug profits. Investigators also believed he was in Mexico under cartel protection.
Patel credited cooperation with Mexico for the arrest, naming President Sheinbaum, Secretary Harfuch, Ambassador Ron Johnson, and others in a public post announcing the capture.
Olympic past, now a major federal case
Wedding once competed for Team Canada and placed 24th in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
After the arrest, Wedding was transported to the United States on Friday. He arrived at Ontario International Airport in Southern California, where federal officials held a press conference.
During that briefing, officials said they had searched for Wedding for more than a year. They also accused him of ordering killings, including murders involving government officials. Authorities said they seized firearms, luxury vehicles, artwork, and other assets tied to the investigation.
Patel said Wedding is expected to appear in federal court as soon as Monday. FBI officials added that investigators are still looking for other people connected to the alleged operation. Ryan Wedding’s arrest was first reported by NBC.
Patel also pointed to the FBI’s recent progress on top fugitive cases, saying six of the agency’s Ten Most Wanted suspects have been arrested in the past year. That includes the capture in Mexico of a man charged in the 2016 killing of a woman in North Carolina, according to the FBI.
Not Ryan Wedding’s first run-in with the courts
This is not the first time Wedding has faced federal prosecution. In June 2008, Wedding was arrested with two other people and accused of conspiring to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, according to a criminal complaint. Investigators said Ryan Wedding and others traveled from Canada to San Diego to purchase cocaine as part of a Vancouver-based trafficking group.
Authorities said the deal was part of a sting operation. After the transaction, FBI agents arrested the group, and investigators later reported finding $100,000 in cash in a hotel room, according to an affidavit.
Court records show Wedding’s two co-defendants pleaded guilty. Wedding went to trial, was convicted in November 2009, and was sentenced in 2010 to four years in prison.
At sentencing, Wedding referred to his athletic career and told the court he wanted to rebuild his reputation.
In October 2024, federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment charging Wedding with running a criminal enterprise that allegedly handled cocaine trafficking and murder across several countries. Prosecutors said the enterprise began around 2011, after Wedding was released from prison.
Prosecutors also allege Wedding and another man ordered multiple killings. They say he directed the November 2023 murders of two family members in Ontario, describing it as retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. Prosecutors also allege he ordered another murder in May 2024, tied to a drug debt. Ryan Wedding had been indicted previously in a case.
