The FBI has added former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan “El Jefe” Wedding to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Wedding, 43, is accused of leading a transnational drug trafficking network that transported large quantities of cocaine from Colombia to Canada via California and Mexico. He is also charged with orchestrating multiple murders, including the retaliation killing of a family in Ontario and a murder over a drug debt.
Wedding competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, placing 24th in the men’s parallel giant slalom event. Following his athletic career, he allegedly became involved in organized crime, rising to a leadership position within the Sinaloa Cartel. Authorities believe he is currently hiding in Mexico under the cartel’s protection.
In October 2024, Wedding and his associate, Andrew Clark, were indicted in the Central District of California on charges including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, murder, and operating a criminal enterprise. Clark was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the U.S., while Wedding remains at large.
“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,” stated FBI Los Angeles Chief, Akil Davis.
According to Davis, Wedding and his colleagues “routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States, and for orchestrating multiple murders and an attempted murder in furtherance of these drug crimes.”
The FBI urges anyone with information on Wedding’s whereabouts to come forward, emphasizing the significant reward and the importance of bringing him to justice.
