The Department of Justice has just released an indictment against Ryan James Wedding, a 44-year-old former Olympic snowboarder from Canada. He represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics, but now he’s in serious trouble, accused of heading an international drug trafficking ring linked to the Sinaloa cartel.
New charges include murder related to witness tampering and intimidation. This stems from an incident on January 31 when Jonathan Acevedo Garcia, a cooperating witness and former associate, was killed at a Colombian restaurant just before he was set to testify against Wedding in a federal drug trial.
Wedding has made it onto the FBI’s Most Wanted list and is described as “extremely violent” with suspected involvement in multiple murders abroad. The idea, it seems, was that eliminating this witness would somehow make the charges against him vanish.
In light of these developments, the Justice Department upped the reward for tips leading to Wedding’s arrest from $10 million to $15 million. They also announced the arrest of 12 individuals believed to be part of his drug trafficking network.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that Wedding allegedly smuggles about “60 tons” of cocaine each year into Southern California using semi-trucks crossing the Mexican border. That’s a staggering amount—around 132,000 pounds—which contributes to an estimated annual revenue of $1 billion for the network responsible for importing pharmaceuticals into the U.S. and Canada.
Bondi emphasized that, “Wedding works closely with a foreign terrorist organization, the Sinaloa Cartel, to flood American and Canadian communities with cocaine from Colombia.” According to her, his organization is behind approximately six tons of cocaine imported annually into Los Angeles.
FBI Director Kash Patel echoed these sentiments during a press briefing, labeling Wedding a “modern-day version of Pablo Escobar.” He made it clear: the law won’t let him escape.
Patel stated, “You can’t be a drug lord and escape the law,” comparing Wedding to notorious figures like ‘El Chapo’ Guzman. He assured the public that the Department of Justice and FBI would collaborate with Canadian authorities and international partners to bring Wedding to justice.
Wedding’s notoriety dates back to 2006, when law enforcement first took note of him during an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which targeted a large marijuana operation in British Columbia. Although a raid uncovered thousands of marijuana plants and significant cash, no charges were brought against him at that time.
A few years later, in 2009, the FBI linked him to a Vancouver drug lord. Wedding and two associates were arrested while supposedly trying to buy around 52 pounds of Colombian cocaine. After serving a four-year prison term, he managed to drop his appeal in exchange for forfeiting over $121,000.
Since 2015, Wedding has been evading authorities and is still thought to be actively involved with the Sinaloa cartel. This case is ongoing, and the gravity of the allegations certainly raises a lot of questions about how it will all unfold.
