**Ryan Wedding, a onetime Olympic athlete, is now a fugitive wanted by U.S. authorities on serious drug trafficking charges tied to a brutal drug cartel.**
**Ex-Olympian Faces FBI Drug Trafficking Charges and Most Wanted Status**
**Ex-Olympian Faces FBI Drug Trafficking Charges and Most Wanted Status**
**Former Canadian snowboarder Ryan Wedding implicated in violent drug ring operations.**
Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, now 43, has become a figure of notoriety, landing on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list for allegedly leading a violent, transnational drug trafficking ring. He is accused of orchestrating the shipment of large quantities of cocaine—from Colombia through Mexico and southern California—into various locations in the U.S. and Canada. His criminal activities have been linked to multiple murders, including a notable case involving the assassination of two family members in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.
The FBI has placed a reward of up to $10 million USD for information that may lead to Wedding's capture or conviction. Authorities speculate that he may be living in Mexico, but they have not ruled out the possibility that he could also be in the U.S., Canada, or other Latin American locales. The current status of his legal representation remains unclear.
Wedding, who represented Canada in Giant Slalom snowboarding during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, is known to use various aliases, including "El Jefe" and "Public Enemy." In June 2024, Wedding, along with his associate Andrew Clark, 34, faced serious charges in California, including committing murder as part of their drug enterprise. Clark has already been apprehended by Mexican authorities and was among 29 fugitives recently extradited to the U.S.
Investigators allege that the two were directly responsible for the murders on November 20, 2023, in Ontario, Canada, as retribution for a drug robbery. Furthermore, they are tied to a drug-related murder on May 18, 2024. The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, represented by assistant director Akil Davis, expressed concern over Wedding's violent propensity and emphasized the vital role the public can play in his eventual capture to prevent further harm.
In a shocking fall from grace, Wedding's transformation from a celebrated athlete to a notorious criminal is a reminder of how the allure of illicit activities can lead individuals down dangerous paths.
