Olympian turned drug lord Ryan Wedding is now FBI’s most-wanted
Ryan James Wedding is described as having brown hair and blue eyes, with or without a beard or a moustache. He weighs approx 240 lbs and is said to be 6'3" tall
The FBI has added a former Olympic snowboarder to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. Officials are offering $10 million for information that will lead to the arrest of alleged drug lord Ryan James Wedding. The 34-year-old, who played for Team Canada during the 2002 Winter Olympics, has been accused of ordering several murders and running an international drug network.
FBI adds former Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding to Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List
Wedding is described as having brown hair and blue eyes, with or without a beard or a moustache. He weighs approximately 240 lbs and is said to be 6'3" tall. His monikers include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” and he is believed to reside in Mexico.
However, investigators have not ruled out his presence in the United States, Canada, and other areas, according to a news release published on the agency's official website. If convicted, Wedding would face a “mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison.” Additionally, the FBI is also offering a $50,000 reward for information that will lead to his arrest.
According to the release, Wedding is “wanted for allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking network that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States, and for orchestrating multiple murders and an attempted murder in furtherance of these drug crimes.”
Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) said, “The Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ryan James Wedding.”
“We are committed to protecting American communities from thugs who, with clear consciences, deliberately peddle illicit narcotics and prey on our youth,” Weiland added, per the news release published on the FBI website.
Meanwhile, Matthew Allen, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division, said, “The former Canadian snowboarder unleashed an avalanche of death and destruction, here and abroad.”
“He earned the name ‘El Jefe’, becoming boss of a violent transnational drug trafficking organization. Now, his face will be on ‘The Top 10 Most Wanted’ posters. He’s unremitting, callous and greed-driven. Today’s announcement beams an even brighter searchlight on him. We ask that you help us find him,” Allen added, according to the FBI's news release.
