Ryan James Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder accused of leading one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations, was arrested Thursday night in Mexico, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Wedding, 44, is believed to be a member of the Sinaloa Cartel and had been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade while allegedly operating a large-scale transnational drug trafficking network, Patel said in a post on X on Friday.
Authorities allege that Wedding coordinated the shipment of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California, distributing the drugs across the United States and Canada. Patel compared Wedding to notorious drug lords Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that Wedding has been flown to the United States, where he will face prosecution.
“Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice,” Bondi said in a statement on X. “We are grateful to Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for their assistance in this case.”
Wedding was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in March, with a $15 million reward offered for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
In a superseding indictment filed in September 2024, Wedding was charged with attempted murder and multiple offenses connected to the alleged drug enterprise. A grand jury later unsealed an additional indictment in November, accusing him of involvement in the killing of a federal witness who was scheduled to testify against him.