Who is Ryan Wedding? How Olympian became alleged drug kingpin

Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged cocaine kingpin who FBI Director Kash Patel has compared to Pablo Escobar, was arrested on Friday, Jan. 23 after a ‘massive’ international manhunt. He was wanted on multiple murder and money laundering charges introduced over the past two years in connection to drug trafficking into the United States.

Wedding was flown to the United States, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi, ‘where he will face justice.’ The 44-year-old is expected to remain in custody during the weekend before an initial court appearance Monday morning, an FBI official said during a news conference Friday at Ontario International Airport in Southern California announcing Wedding’s arrest.

Law enforcement had been searching for Wedding for years due to his alleged ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, and his dark turn from world-class Olympic athlete to notorious fugitive and alleged drug dealer appears to have occurred long ago.

‘He went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco-trafficker in modern times,’ Patel said during the news conference.

Here’s more on Wedding’s transformation from Olympic snowboarder to international drug dealer, including the charges he’s facing from federal authorities and details on what eventually led to his capture on Jan. 23:

What charges does Ryan Wedding face?

Wedding, along with 15 co-conspirators, was charged with eight felonies in October 2024 in a superseding indictment brought by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly ‘running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States, and whose leaders orchestrated multiple murders in furtherance of these drug crimes.’

Wedding officially faced two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to export cocaine, one count of leading a continuing criminal enterprise, three counts of murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and drug crime, and one count of attempt to commit murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and drug crime.

Wedding was also charged in the original indictment with running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder, and conspiring to possess, distribute and export cocaine.

Wedding and a co-conspirator are specifically charged with directing the Nov. 20, 2023 drug-related murders of two members of a family in Ontario, Canada, as well as ordering the murder of another victim in Canada on May 18, 2024, over a drug debt, according to the Justice Department. Wedding’s most recent indictment included allegedly ordering the murder of an associate in Colombia in January 2025.

‘Ryan Wedding tormented several people and several families that will never be the same,’ Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said on Friday.

Ryan Wedding FBI most wanted

Wedding was added to the FBI’s ’10 Most Wanted Fugitives’ list in March 2025. There was initially a $10 million reward for information that led to the arrest and/or conviction of Wedding offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. It was subsequently increased to $15 million in November by the U.S. Department of State.

Where was Ryan Wedding arrested?

Wedding was arrested on Thursday night, Jan. 22 in Mexico City, Patel said on Friday. He did not offer further details about how Wedding was apprehended or whether anybody received the $15 million reward, citing the need to ‘maximize operational security.’

Los Angeles was considered the hub of Wedding’s drug distribution network by law enforcement officials. But Wedding was long believed to be hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa drug cartel, the organization allegedly tied to his drug trafficking operation. Previous Department of Justice indictments referred to him as a Canadian citizen living in Mexico.

Bondi, in her social media post announcing Wedding’s arrest on Jan. 23, thanked U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson and Mexican authorities for assisting in the case. She also noted Wedding had been flown to the United States to face criminal charges.

Ryan Wedding motorcycles seized

Has Ryan Wedding been arrested before?

Yes.

Wedding was arrested in June 2008 and accused of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. An affidavit in the case detailed how Wedding and associates traveled from Canada to San Diego as part of a drug trafficking organization based in Vancouver, according to CNN. But the drug deal was a sting and FBI agents arrested Wedding and two others, while investigators found $100,000 in cash in their hotel room.

Wedding was found guilty in November 2009 and sentenced to four years in prison in 2010. He was released from prison in December 2011, CNN reported.

Ryan Wedding, the Olympic snowboarder

Wedding, a Thunder Bay, Ontario native, first appeared on the Canadian national snowboarding team in 1997 and appeared in events around the world during the next five years, culminating with his appearance at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Wedding finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom snowboarding event at those Winter Games and his competitive career ended shortly thereafter.

Wedding then enrolled at Simon Fraser University and moved to Vancouver, according to Rolling Stone. The outlet also reported Wedding took a job as a bouncer at a club in Vancouver during that time and it eventually introduced him to the drug underworld in which he allegedly became a major player.