On March 6, 2025, FBI revealed that Canadian former Olympian snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been added to their list of top 10 most wanted criminals’ list. He has been charged with several criminal offenses, including running a narcotics empire and both homicides and attempted homicide charges.
Information that can potentially lead to Wedding’s arrest has been valued at $10 million. Moreover, any relevant information on his whereabouts will also be rewarded with $50,000.
The 43-year-old was also known by aliases like Public Enemy and El Jefe and is allegedly now hiding out in Mexico under the Sinaloa cartel’s protection. According to the charges prepared by the FBI, Wedding allegedly ran a transnational narcotics ring, which shipped massive amounts of cocaine “from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to Canada.”
It was further revealed, “His criminal network leveraged Los Angeles transportation corridors to distribute staggering quantities of illicit dr—gs, devastating communities across the country.” FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office’s Akil Davis said, “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.”
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He also added, “The alleged m—rders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man, and his addition to the list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, coupled with a major reward offer by the State Department, will make the public our partner so that we can catch up with him before he puts anyone else in danger.”
The Toronto Star reported that senior State Department official, Cart Weiland, said, “Wedding, believe it or not, is a former snowboarder who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, but afterwards, he went downhill in a different way.” He also added, “Wedding traded snow for another kind of powder, giving up world-class athletic pursuits for cocaine trafficking and involvement in murder.”
The Naval forces arrested Wedding’s alleged second-in-command, fellow Canadian Andrew Clark, in Mexico on October 7. However, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph T. McNally mentioned that he “somewhat inexplicably” got out on bail in Mexico on Thursday.
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As the U.S. authorities have decided to intervene in this decision, McNally said, “This sends a strong message to individuals abroad, that if you operate criminal organizations outside the United States that harm us will be aggressive in pursuing you beyond our borders, and we will use our full resources to find you.”
The RCMP is assisting the FBI in this investigation and mentioned Wedding possesses the “largest organized crime threats to Canada.” Liam Prince, director general of the RCMP’s International Special Services division, said, “We will continue to work with our U.S. and Mexico counterparts in the search for Wedding. Never has it been more important than now to ensure our continued collaboration with our international partners to tackle the threats we face and prevent transnational crime from hurting everyday Canadians and our allies.”
It now remains to be seen how the proceedings will proceed after the monetary reward is announced and the Most Wanted list is made public.
