Former Olympic Snowboarder Ryan Wedding Arrested On Drug Trafficking & Murder Charges
The FBI's most-wanted fugitive, accused of running a violent cocaine empire, was apprehended in Mexico after more than a decade on the run.
Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who authorities say transformed from elite athlete to alleged international drug kingpin, was arrested Thursday night in Mexico, bringing an end to a years-long manhunt for one of North America's most wanted fugitives.
Wedding, 44, allegedly led one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations and was arrested in Mexico following international cooperation between U.S. and Mexican authorities. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest Friday, describing it as "a huge day for a safer North America."
While initial reports suggested a tactical raid, Mexican security officials confirmed Friday that Wedding voluntarily surrendered at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City on Wednesday. He had reportedly been hiding in plain sight under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel.
“He thought he could evade justice … here we are today, bringing him to justice,” the FBI director, Kash Patel, said from an airfield in California, calling Wedding the “largest narco-trafficker in modern times”.
Mexico’s security minister, Omar García Harfuch, said that Wedding “surrendered voluntarily” at the US embassy in Mexico City on Wednesday after evading police for nearly a decade.
The capture follows a series of high-stakes raids in Mexico last month, where authorities seized 62 high-end motorcycles, luxury vehicles, and documents. In a poetic irony, investigators also recovered what they believe to be Wedding’s original Olympic participation medals during the searches.
The former snowboarder, who represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, faces multiple federal charges including running a continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, murder, and witness intimidation. Authorities believe Wedding is a member of the Sinaloa Cartel and had been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade while running a transnational drug trafficking operation.
According to prosecutors, Wedding shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California to the United States and Canada . The drug ring is estimated to have moved some 60 tons of cocaine a year using semi-trailer trucks.
The case against Wedding includes some of the most serious allegations in recent federal drug prosecutions. In November, a grand jury indictment charged him in the death of a federal witness who was supposed to testify against him, after Wedding allegedly placed a bounty on the witness's head and used a Canadian website to locate the witness and his wife before the witness was fatally shot at a restaurant
Wedding is also accused of ordering the murders of married couple Jagtar Sidhu, 57, and Harbhajan Sidhu, 55, who were killed in November 2023, and Mohammed Zafar, 39, who was killed in May 2024
Wedding's fall from Olympic competitor to alleged crime boss began years after his athletic career ended. Court documents allege Wedding's crime spree began in 2008, six years after he represented Canada in the Winter Olympics. He was arrested and found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine following a November 2009 trial, receiving a 48-month federal prison sentence and was released in December 2011.
Federal law enforcement believes Wedding founded his criminal enterprise after his release from prison, eventually rising to become what authorities describe as a major figure in international cocaine trafficking. FBI Director Patel has compared Wedding to the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, notorious leader of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel.
In March, Wedding was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list of fugitives, with a $15 million reward offered for information leading to his arrest and prosecution Snow-how. The reward amount, one of the highest ever offered by the FBI, reflected the severity of the charges and the priority authorities placed on his capture.
Last month, authorities in Mexico seized dozens of motorcycles worth an estimated $40 million that Wedding was believed to own, along with two Olympic medals, two vehicles, drugs, artwork and other items at various locations in Mexico City. In November, the FBI also seized a rare $13 million 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster as part of the investigation.
At a Friday news conference in California, Patel emphasized the international cooperation that led to Wedding's capture. "When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front, and that's what you're seeing here," he said.
According to Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, Patel held meetings in Mexico on Thursday and left Friday with two detainees, including a Canadian citizen who turned himself in at the U.S. embassy and someone on the FBI's most-wanted list who had been detained by Mexican authorities. A Mexican security official indicated that Wedding was the Canadian who surrendered.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Wedding was flown to the United States where he will face justice. He is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday.
The case has resulted in numerous arrests beyond Wedding. Six additional defendants were arrested in November 2025, including an attorney who allegedly worked for Wedding. Toronto-area lawyer Deepak Paradkar and jeweller Rolan Sokolovski are among Wedding's alleged associates who were arrested in Canada late last year.
Wedding also faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015.
The arrest marks a dramatic conclusion to the story of an athlete who once competed on the world's biggest sporting stage, only to allegedly become what federal authorities call one of the most dangerous drug traffickers operating in North America.
