Ryan James Wedding’s previous life consisted of competing on the slopes as a Canadian Olympic snowboarder. His current life is one that would make for a great night of Tubi viewing, as the 44-year-old was arrested by FBI after rising to a prominent position on its most-wanted fugitives list for pushing ‘white’ and unaliving witnesses.
Wedding is facing charges relating to drug trafficking and the alleged killing of a federal witness and others. Some real kingpin activity. In fact, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the arrest of Wedding on Friday (Jan. 23) describing the former snowboarder as an “alleged cocaine kingpin”.
What Are Ryan Wedding’s Charges?
Wedding was the mastermind of an elaborate operation. In 2024, he was officially charged with running a drug ring that moved huge amounts of cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada via semitrucks.
Wedding also had several aliases, including “El Jefe,” “Public Enemy” and “James Conrad Kin.”
Wedding had been very elusive and able to avoid authorities, but in November, the Department of Justice basically put a bounty on his head, offering a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest, after first offering $10M.
In a post on X, Bondi said Wedding had been flown to the U.S. “where he will face justice.”
Bondi also credited President Trump in the apprehension of Wedding, saying the capture was a “direct result of President Trump’s law-and-order leadership” and that “criminals have no safe harbor.”
Why Was Olympic Snowboarder James Wedding Arrested By The FBI?
According to the FBI, Wedding was wanted “for allegedly running and participating in a global drug trafficking operation that shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and other locations in the United States. It was a daily operation that generated hundreds of millions.
Making matters worse, Wedding didn’t allegedly just run a major drug enterprise, “it is alleged that Wedding was involved in orchestrating multiple murders in furtherance of these drug crimes.”
In November, Bondi announced more charges for Wedding, including an indictment on charges of orchestrating the killing of a witness in Colombia in order to avoid said witness being extradited to the U.S. to safely testify in trial.
Authorities said Wedding and co-conspirators used a Canadian website called “The Dirty News” to post a photograph of the witness so he could be identified and killed. The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medellín in January and shot in the head.
Wedding faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was previously convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010, federal records show. Additionally, Wedding faces a money laundering charge.
Ryan Wedding Is Olympic Snowboarder Turned Lethal Drug Kingpin
FBI Director Kash Patel has been a busy man the past year. After recently exposing a blockbuster gambling scandal involving prominent NBA and college names, he told reporters that Wedding was taken into custody in Mexico on Thursday night.
According to Patel, Wedding had been hiding outings in Mexico, — using his money and influence to avoid American authorities — for over a decade, where he allegedly became a member of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Patel gave a shoutout to the Mexican government for participating in the capture of Wedding.
“This is the SIXTH Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive this FBI has captured within a year – fugitives who had been on the run for almost 40 years combined,” Patel said on social media.
FBI Reportedly Seized Ryan Wedding’s $40M Motorcycle Collection Seized By
The FBI has reportedly raided several of Wedding’s homes and millions in luxury items.
“Wow, look at that motorcycle collection!! Can’t say Ryan Wedding wasn’t a motorcycle fan!
“Police have seized an estimated $40 million worth of luxury motorcycles believed to be connected to Ryan James Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who is now one of the FBI’s Ten List”