Additional Coverage:
- Fugitive Olympic snowboarder faces new accusations as feds raise reward for his capture to $15M (foxnews.com)
FBI Offers $15 Million Reward for Ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding, Facing New Charges in International Drug and Murder Ring
Federal authorities have significantly increased the reward for information leading to the capture of former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding to an astounding $15 million. Wedding, 44, already a fixture on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List, now faces a slew of additional charges, including witness tampering, intimidation, murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking.
These new charges stem from allegations that Wedding and 14 associates orchestrated the January 2025 murder of a witness in Colombia. Officials claim Wedding placed a bounty on the victim’s head, believing their death would lead to the dismissal of charges against him and the extensive drug-trafficking organization he is accused of leading.
FBI Director Kash Patel did not mince words during a recent news conference, characterizing Wedding as an “extremely violent criminal” responsible for numerous murders abroad. “You do not get to be a drug kingpin and evade the law,” Patel asserted, drawing parallels between Wedding and notorious figures like Pablo Escobar and “El Chapo” Guzman. He vowed that the Justice Department and FBI, in collaboration with Canadian and international counterparts, would relentlessly pursue Wedding until he faces justice.
Patel further stated, “He is responsible for engineering a narco-trafficking and narco-terrorism program that we have not seen in a long time. He will not evade justice.” He urged anyone with information about Wedding’s whereabouts to come forward, emphasizing, “Now is the time to speak up.”
Authorities also confirmed the shutdown of a website called “The Dirty News,” which they say was used to post images of the January murder victim and his wife online, with the intent of them being “hunted down and killed.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, Central District of California, delivered a stern warning: “Your days are numbered.
Our agents and prosecutors will relentlessly pursue you and anyone who assists you and bring you to justice. Not just anywhere, we’re going to bring you to justice in the United States of America.”
Wedding is suspected of trafficking tons of cocaine from Colombia and Mexico into the U.S. and Canada, utilizing cryptocurrency to conceal his illicit wealth. The FBI alleges he has ordered dozens of murders across North and Latin America.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed the sentiment, stating, “Ryan Wedding controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in this world and works closely with the Sinaloa Cartel. We will not rest until his name is taken off the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List and his narco-trafficking organization lies dismantled.”
The former Olympian, who competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, first came under police scrutiny for criminal activity in 2006 during an investigation into a large-scale marijuana grow operation in British Columbia. His first arrest came in 2009 in the U.S. for attempting to purchase 24 kilograms of Colombian cocaine, leading to a four-year prison sentence.
Since 2015, when he faced new drug-related charges in Nova Scotia, Wedding has been on the lam. U.S. investigators believe he has been protected by the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico and resumed his trafficking activities shortly after his release from prison.
Wedding is known to use several aliases, including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King.” He is estimated to have trafficked over $1 billion in cocaine.
He and alleged accomplice Andrew Clark, who was apprehended in October 2024 and extradited earlier this year, are also accused of coordinating the murder of an Ontario family in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. Furthermore, the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police allege that Wedding and Clark were involved in a November 2023 double homicide in Ontario, a case of mistaken identity, and the murder of another individual in May over a drug debt.
The murder and criminal enterprise charges against Wedding carry a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison.