Kash Patel: Ryan Wedding’s arrest strengthens Trump’s fight against crime

FBI’s Capture of Former Olympian Ryan Wedding Highlights Drug Trafficking Fight

FBI Director Kash Patel recently announced the arrest of Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic athlete who became a fugitive kingpin. This arrest, he emphasized, is crucial to the FBI’s larger efforts to combat crime under President Donald Trump.

Wedding, 44, was apprehended in Mexico as part of a collaborative operation that included Mexican authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

This marks Wedding as the sixth fugitive on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list to be apprehended during Patel’s leadership. “To put it in perspective, that’s two more than what the previous administration achieved,” Patel noted, attributing the success to the strong leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi and their federal partners.

Wedding was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list in March 2025, with accusations of leading a cross-border drug trafficking network. The FBI alleges that he regularly facilitated the transportation of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to Canada and the U.S. He is also believed to be linked to multiple murders tied to his operations.

“Ryan Wedding went from being an Olympic snowboarder to possibly our era’s most notorious drug trafficker,” Patel said during a press event. “He thought he could evade justice, but he’s not going to.”

Describing Wedding’s organization, Patel remarked, “They’ve flooded the streets of North America with drugs, hurting countless young people. Today marks an end to that.”

Patel further characterized 2025 as a significant year for the FBI, reporting about 67,000 arrests—up 200% from the prior year. He proudly stated that the agency had seized sufficient fentanyl to potentially kill 150 million individuals, alongside other noteworthy accomplishments.

In connection with Wedding’s organization, 36 individuals have already been arrested, and authorities confiscated a vast array of assets including cash, weapons, and luxury items. Notably, the Los Angeles Police Department reported the seizure of over 20,300 kilograms of cocaine, amongst other illicit goods.