A former Olympic snowboarder has been charged with operating a deadly cocaine enterprise — and he remains at large. Ryan James Wedding , 43, who competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, was charged Thursday, October 17 with running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiring to distribute cocaine and other crimes, U.S.
prosecutors said. Wedding, a Canadian citizen who was living in Mexico and is now considered a fugitive, is accused of running a drug trafficking ring that moved 60 tons of cocaine per year. According to authorities, Wedding’s group used long-haul semi trucks to move shipments of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and California to Canada and other locations in the United States.
Wedding is one of 16 individuals charged in connection to the operation, with four of them remaining fugitives. A dozen people were arrested in Florida, Michigan, Canada, Colombia and Mexico in connection with the case, according to FBI special agent Krysti Hawkins . The FBI has issued a $50,000 reward for information that leads to Wedding’s arrest and extradition.
Authorities say Wedding’s group turned deadly in 2023 when members of the crime ring killed two members of a family in Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. Officials say the murders turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. Andrew Clark, who was arrested October 8 by the FBI, and Wedding are alleged to have directed the murders, according to a U.
S. Department of Justice news.