Olympic snowboarder is wanted for leading a murderous drug trafficking operation, according to the FBI

A former Olympic snowboarder has been accused of running a drug smuggling operation that allegedly transported huge amounts of drugs across borders, killing four people, the FBI said Thursday.

A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of 43-year-old Ryan James Wedding, who represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. According to the FBI, Wedding is now considered an armed and dangerous fugitive.

Wedding, a Canadian citizen living in Mexico, is one of 16 defendants charged by California prosecutors with running a “transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine across America,” U.S. Attorney Martin said Estrada in a statement.

The gang's leaders “orchestrated several murders to further these drug crimes,” Estrada said.

Wedding — who allegedly uses the names “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy” — is charged with eight felonies. He was previously charged with running an ongoing criminal enterprise, murder and conspiring to possess, distribute and export cocaine.

A second man, Andrew Clark, 34, another Canadian citizen living in Mexico whose aliases include “the dictator,” was arrested by Mexican police on October 8 and remains in custody. Both men face life imprisonment if convicted. Several members of the gang have been arrested and are expected to make their first court appearances next week in Los Angeles, Michigan and Miami.

Prosecutors allege the gang shipped up to 827 pounds of cocaine in a single month, taking it from Mexico to Southern California and then to Ontario, Canada.

“The cocaine trafficking organization's employees stored the cocaine in warehouses before delivering it to couriers in the transport network for transport to Canada using long-haul semi-trucks,” prosecutors said.

Wedding and Clark are also accused of ordering the murders of two people in Ontario in November 2023 in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.

“As alleged in the indictment, an Olympic athlete turned drug lord is now accused of leading a transnational organized crime group engaged in cocaine trafficking and murder, including of innocent civilians,” Estrada said.

Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles, said the drug trafficking gang “triggered an avalanche of violent crimes, including brutal murders” and that “Wedding, the Olympic snowboarder, went from navigating slopes to contouring his life.” full of incessant crimes.

Already during the investigation, conducted in collaboration with LAPD police in Ontario, officers have recovered more than a ton of cocaine, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, more than $250,000 in U.S. currency and more than 3.2 million US dollars in cryptocurrency confiscated.