MEXICO CITY (CN) - Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned suspected cocaine boss, was detained by Mexican authorities after he voluntarily turned himself in to a U.S. embassy on Thursday.
According to the U.S. State Department, Wedding headed a "complex transnational organized crime organization which coordinated the procurement and transportation of cocaine from South America to the United States and Canada."
He was charged with eight felonies in October 2024: 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 has been linked to dozens of murders, including two parents murdered in front of their child in Ontario, Canada, in what authorities believe was a case of mistaken identity. Most recently, authorities also linked him to the January murder of a U.S. federal witness in Medellin, Colombia.
On Thursday, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel and United States Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson met with Mexico's security chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch, in Mexico to discuss high-priority criminal targets.
"The meetings took place in an atmosphere of respect, and it was agreed to further strengthen coordination, which has already yielded concrete results," Harfuch said in a statement on X. "Cooperation will continue, and information sharing will be reinforced to strengthen the security of both countries."
"The FBI Director departed today for the United States, taking with him two high-priority targets: a non-U.S. citizen arrested by Mexican authorities as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted, and a Canadian citizen who surrendered voluntarily yesterday at the U.S. Embassy," he added.
In a statement of his own on X, Patel confirmed that the Canadian citizen is Ryan Wedding. He thanked the Mexican government for its cooperation.
"This operation is the result of tremendous cooperation and team work with the Government of Mexico," Patel said. "Special thanks to our amazing partners in Mexico who facilitated this - President Sheinbaum, Secretary Harfuch, Ambassador Ron Johnson, Legat Mexico, and more."
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also confirmed Wedding's arrest.
"At my direction, Department of Justice agents [at the FBI] have apprehended yet another member of the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted List: Ryan Wedding, the onetime Olympian snowboarder turned alleged violent cocaine kingpin," she wrote in a statement on X.
Wedding has been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since March 2025. In November, the U.S. State Department increased the reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction to $15 million.
In an undercover sting operation in 2008, Wedding was arrested for attempting to buy 24 kilograms of cocaine from an FBI agent.
Authorities say he planned to smuggle the drugs into Canada. He was sent to prison for the crime in 2010 and released the following year, when authorities believe he fled to Mexico.
Wedding's arrest and transfer to the U.S. comes just two days after the Mexican government transferred 37 prisoners to the U.S. as part of a bilateral security agreement between the two countries - and amid mounting pressure from the U.S. government to toughen up on crime.
Wedding, a former snowboarder, won the bronze medal in the men's parallel giant slalom at the 1999 Junior World Championship and a silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom at the 2001 Junior World Championships. He also competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Source: Courthouse News Service
