Ryan Wedding appears in a recently released photo shared by investigators, showing the former Olympic snowboarder now accused of leading a major drug operation. Credit: FBI
After more than ten years in hiding, Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder from British Columbia, now faces arrest in Mexico. Authorities took him into custody this week after he surrendered at the U.S. embassy in Mexico City. Officials transported him to the United States shortly after.
Wedding, 44, appeared on the list of most-wanted fugitives for years. Investigators accused him of leading a large international drug operation that moved massive amounts of cocaine across borders.
Law enforcement praises joint effort
FBI director Kash Patel announced the arrest during a press conference in Southern California and through social media.
“This arrest was a success of interagency law enforcement putting itself to the max every single day, relentlessly,” Patel said.
Authorities say cooperation between American and Mexican officials played a key role in ending the search.
Allegations of major drug trafficking
Patel said investigators believe Wedding ran a drug operation that moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California. The drugs allegedly entered both the United States and Canada.
“He was allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California to the United States and Canada—as a member of the Sinaloa cartel,” Patel said.
Wedding now faces U.S. charges for leading a criminal enterprise. Prosecutors also accuse him of using intimidation tactics, including murder, to silence witnesses.
Voluntary surrender raises questions
Mexican authorities say Wedding turned himself in while Patel visited the country. Officials have not explained why he chose to surrender after so many years in hiding. Investigators have not commented further.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked Mexican officials for their help and referred to Wedding as an “alleged violent cocaine kingpin.”
Network of arrests across borders
Authorities arrested several people connected to the case over the past year. Among them was Wedding’s alleged right-hand man, Andrew Clark, who police arrested in Mexico in October 2024.
Another suspect, Ontario defense lawyer Deepak Balwant Paradkar, faces charges linked to the murder of a witness in Colombia. Prosecutors say the witness planned to testify against Wedding.
That case also connects to a 2023 shooting in Caledon, northwest of Toronto, where Jagtar Sidhu and Harbhajan Sidhu died. Their daughter survived after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. Police say the attackers targeted the wrong people.
From Olympic slopes to criminal allegations
Wedding grew up in Coquitlam and competed for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics, finishing 24th in snowboarding. After leaving the sport, he studied briefly at Simon Fraser University before dropping out.
Police first linked him to crime in 2006 during a marijuana investigation in Maple Ridge. In 2009, U.S. authorities arrested him while he traveled to California to buy cocaine. He later received a reduced prison sentence after a plea deal.
In 2015, new charges followed in Nova Scotia, but Wedding fled. Since then, authorities believe he oversaw a massive cocaine network tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, moving drugs worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
His arrest now brings one of North America’s most high-profile fugitive cases to a close.
