A photo of former Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding released by the FBI. Photo: FBI
Ryan James Wedding, 43, represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he came in 24th in the men’s parallel giant slalom. Since then, though, he’s become more famous for his part in running a transnational drug trafficking ring. Now, authorities have added additional charges in connection with the killing of a federal witness, as the Associated Press reports.
Wedding, who also went under the aliases “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” is accused of leading an organized crime group that not only shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, but also orchestrated multiple murders. According to the Central California U.S. Attorney’s Office, “The cocaine shipments were transported from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, where the cocaine trafficking organization’s operatives would store the cocaine in stash houses, before delivering it to the transportation network couriers for transportation to Canada using long-haul semi-trucks.”
According to authorities, Wedding posted a photograph of a federal witness to a Canadian website called “the Dirty News,” after which the witness was followed to a restaurant in Medellín and shot in the head.
“Wedding placed the bounty on the victim’s head, with the erroneous belief that the victim’s death would result in the dismissal of criminal charges against him and his international drug trafficking ring, and would further ensure that he was not extradited to the United States. He was wrong,” said Central District of California prosecutor Bill Essayli.
Authorities are offering up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of Wedding, who is believed to be living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel.
“Whether you are a street-level drug dealer … or an international drug kingpin, we are coming for you,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters. “We will find you and you will be accountable and held to justice for your crimes.”
