Motorcycles valued at $40 million USD, two Canadian National Snowboarding Series medals, and some interesting artwork were some of the items police in Mexico seized after executing multiple search warrants in December in relation to FBI fugitive Ryan Wedding.
Photos of the items believed to be owned by the former Canadian Olympic athlete, who is now one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives, were released by the Los Angeles FBI division, on Monday, Dec. 29, and on Tuesday, Dec. 30, noting the seizure of these items was a result of the collaborative efforts among Mexican authorities and the American police bureau.
The 44-year-old is wanted for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that, according to the FBI, routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Columbia, through Mexico and southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States.
Wedding is also allegedly involved in orchestrating multiple murders in relation to the drug crimes.
In an indictment unsealed on Nov. 19, charges were announced against the former snowboarder, who had represented Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is charged in the killing of a witness in a federal narcotics case against him, on Jan. 31, 2025.
Wedding is accused of placing a bounty on the victim and enlisting the services of others to locate and kill the victim, who was shot to death in a restaurant in Medellin, Columbia.
He is also charged with allegedly overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise, engaging in witness intimidation tactics, and enriching himself with the enterprise’s laundered drug proceeds.
He has been described by officials in the U.S. as being a “narco-trafficker” on par with notorious drug lords like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar.
In 2006, Wedding was named in a Maple Ridge search warrant and was investigated for allegedly growing large amounts of illicit cannabis, but was never charged, according to his biography on olympics.com, a website that provides the names, results, and biographies of all athletes who took part in the Olympics.
In May, 2010, he was convicted of attempting to buy cocaine from a US government agent in 2008, and was sentenced to four years in prison, the site also stated.
A 2024 indictment revealed Wedding was also charged with running a continuing criminal enterprise, and directing the November 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Caledon, Ontario, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that passed through Southern California. Another member of that family survived the shooting, but was left with serious injuries.
In this latest posting, the FBI is reminding the public that there is a reward of up to $15 million USD for information leading to Wedding’s arrest and/or conviction.
Anyone with information concerning Wedding, are asked to contact the FBI via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram at (424) 495-0614.
People in this country can contact the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, at 604-685-4311, or submit a tip online at: http://tips.fbi.gov.
For more information, visit https://fbi.gov/wanted/topten/ryan-james-wedding.