Olympian Turned Murderous SoCal Cocaine Kingpin Captured: FBI

LOS ANGELES, CA — A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder accused of building a drug trafficking network by shipping more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine through the Southland has been captured, FBI officials announced Friday.

Ryan James Wedding, 44, who was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List, was taken into custody in Mexico on Thursday night, FBI Director Kash Patel said on X, adding that he is being transported ot the United States “to face justice.”

“Wedding is believed to have been hiding in Mexico for over a decade — and has been wanted on charges for cocaine trafficking and murder since 2024,” Patel wrote. “This operation is the result of tremendous cooperation and teamwork with the Government of Mexico.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi applauded Patel's efforts in a post on X.

"Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice," Bondi wrote. "We are grateful to our incredible Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for assisting us in this case."

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Prior to his capture, there was a $15 million reward offered for information leading to his capture and conviction.

Wedding was charged in 2024 with running a drug ring that moves some 60 tons of cocaine a year using long-haul semi trucks to bring the drugs between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada.

In November, Bondi announced 10 other defendants in connection with the case had been arrested.

The indictment accuses Wedding of orchestrating the January killing of a witness in Colombia to help Wedding avoid extradition to the U.S.

The witness, Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, was shot and killed in a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia. Acebedo-Garcia was a witness in a 2024 federal narcotics case against Wedding, KTLA reported.

“Wedding placed the bounty on the victim’s head, and the erroneous belief that the victim’s death would result in the dismissal of criminal charges against him and his international drug trafficking ring, and would further ensure that he was not extradited to the United States. He was wrong,” said Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor for the Central District of California.

Wedding was believed to be living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel, for which he was funneling massive quantities of drugs into Canada and the U.S., according to federal investigators.

The drugs came from Mexico and were held in Los Angeles stash houses before couriers took them to Canada in long-haul semi-trucks, according to prosecutors.

"Ryan Wedding's athletic drive snowballed into a life of violence and, instead of conquering mountains, he mastered a deadly drug distribution enterprise,'' Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles bureau, said in November.

If convicted, Wedding — and the defendants charged in connection with the murder — could face life in federal prison, according to federal prosecutors.

Wedding competed in the Giant Slalom snowboarding competition in the 2002 Olympics.

City News Service contributed to this report.