Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding wanted for running cocaine ring, ordering murders

A erstwhile Canadian Olympic snowboarder has been running an planetary cocaine ringing and is liable for ordering aggregate murders, U.S. authorities said Thursday.

Ryan Wedding, 43, remains connected the run successful Mexico, according to the feds. However, 12 of the 15 different suspects successful the lawsuit person been rounded up successful caller days.

Wedding’s enactment allegedly moved monolithic quantities of cocaine — up to 60 tons per twelvemonth — from Mexico into the U.S. and Canada, according to the Justice Department. The radical utilized the L.A. country arsenic a basal to administer the coke utilizing long-haul semi-trucks, investigators said.

Ryan Wedding of Canada competes successful the qualifying circular of the men’s parallel elephantine slalom snowboarding lawsuit during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games astatine the Park City Mountain Resort successful Park City, Utah. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

The radical “triggered an avalanche of convulsive crimes, including brutal murders,” Los Angeles DEA cause Matthew Allen said successful a statement. “Wedding, the Olympian snowboarder, went from navigating slopes to contouring a beingness of incessant crimes.”

Wedding competed for Canada successful the 2002 Games successful Salt Lake City, finishing 24th successful the parallel elephantine slalom. He lived successful the eastbound Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam astatine the time.

Not agelong aft that, Wedding got into the planetary cause trade, according to the feds. He was busted successful a sting cognition successful San Diego successful 2008 and sentenced to 4 years successful prison.

But that didn’t deter him. Wedding yet roseate to tally his ain unit, adjacent earning the protection of Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel erstwhile successful the country, the feds said.

Investigators person connected Wedding and his accused right-hand man, Andrew Clark, to 4 murders successful Canada. In 1 case, Wedding and Clark ordered the killings of 2 guiltless members of an Ontario household successful November 2023 successful a lawsuit of mistaken identity, cops said.

They were besides tied to killings connected April 1 and May 18 of this year, the feds said. Clark himself helped transportation retired the April murder, according to authorities.

Wedding and Clark were charged with murder, moving a transgression endeavor and conspiring to administer cocaine, among different crimes successful a 16-count indictment successful national tribunal successful California. Wedding besides faces charges successful Canada.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for tips that pb to his arrest.

With News Wire Services