Accused cocaine trafficker and former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been arrested and is now in custody, two law enforcement officials told NBC News on Friday.
The 44-year-old Canadian is wanted by the FBI for an alleged transnational drug ring that is said to bring around 60 metric tons of cocaine into Southern California, Attorney General Pam Bondi previously claimed in a press conference.
Wedding had been compared to Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán by FBI Director Kash Patel.
In total, Wedding was charged with eight felonies, including three counts of murder and one count of attempt to commit murder back in September of 2024. Then in November, a grand jury indictment against Wedding charged with the death of a federal witness who was supposed to testify against the former snowboarder. That witness was shot and killed after Wedding ‘placed a bounty’ on his head with the help of a Canadian website.
There had been a $15 million reward for information leading to Wedding’s arrest and prosecution.
A Friday morning news conference is scheduled where more information is expected to be shared with the public.
Accused cocaine trafficker and former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been arrested and is now in custody, two law enforcement officials told NBC News on Friday
A month ago, the FBI released never-before-seen photos of a $40 million seizure of motorbikes believed to be owned by Wedding. Among the items seized were 62 motorbikes.
Alongside the images, a statement from the FBI read: ‘This month, Mexican authorities executed multiple search warrants and seized a large number of motorcycles with an estimated value of approximately $40 million USD believed to be owned by FBI’s Top Ten Fugitive Ryan James Wedding.
‘This successful seizure is a result of collaborative efforts among Mexican authorities, the FBI, @RCMP and @LAPDHQ.
While not verified, speculation on social media claimed that some of the motorbikes have a famous history, potentially even being ridden by Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez in MotoGP.
Also in the recent haul, FBI agents found two vehicles, two Olympic medals, methamphetamine, marijuana, works of art, and ammunition.
It is not clear who the medals belong to, given Wedding finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom at his sole Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
The US Treasury Department recently claimed Wedding has built a ‘complex web’ of assets to hide his wealth, using luxury cars, motorcycles, properties, cryptocurrency and front businesses.
In November, Patel labeled him a ‘modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar,’ adding that Wedding was responsible for ‘engineering a narco trafficking and narco terrorism program that we have not seen in a long time.’
Bondi said that the drug kingpin ‘controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world.’
The authorities have also said there was ‘some evidence’ Wedding had undergone cosmetic surgery to alter his appearance and further evade detection.
