"Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin and FBI "Most Wanted" fugitive, was arrested in Mexico after eluding capture for more than a decade, U.S. authorities announced Friday. Officials have likened the 44-year-old Canadian, who competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City games, to a "modern-day iteration" of notorious drug smugglers Pablo Escobar and Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and have accused him of playing a role in multiplekillings. The FBI had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his apprehension and conviction."
""He went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco trafficker in modern times," FBI Director Kash Patel said at a news conference in California announcing Wedding's arrest. "He thought he could evade justice." Patel said he flew to Mexico on Wednesday to oversee the operation that led to Wedding's apprehension a day later in Mexico City. He declined to answer questions about the details of that operation, but credited Mexican authorities for their cooperation."
"Wedding - who allegedly operated under aliases including "El Jefe," "Giant" and "Public Enemy" - was charged in federal court in Los Angeles in 2024 with running a billion-dollar enterprise described as "the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada." Prosecutors said he worked with Mexican drug cartels to move multiton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, then on to Canada and various American states. Wedding has also been accused of recruiting assassins he put on his payroll to kill "perceived rivals, disfavored people, and supposed cooperators.""
Ryan Wedding, a 44-year-old former Olympic snowboarder, was arrested in Mexico after eluding authorities for more than a decade. U.S. prosecutors allege he ran a billion-dollar enterprise acting as the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, working with Mexican cartels to move multiton shipments from Colombia through Mexico to Canada and U.S. states. Authorities allege he used aliases and recruited assassins to kill perceived rivals and others, and that he ordered the killing of a witness. The FBI offered up to $15 million for information; Mexican authorities cooperated in the arrest and he will appear in Los Angeles court.
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