Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, 43, has been placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The announcement was made by Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, during a press conference in Westwood.
Law enforcement partners from the United States Department of State, Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Federal Policing, Los Angeles Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration – Los Angeles, and United States Attorney’s Office – Central District of California joined ADIC Davis for the announcement.
Ryan Wedding is accused of operating a transnational drug trafficking network that allegedly transported large quantities of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to Canada and other parts of the United States. He is also wanted for orchestrating multiple murders and an attempted murder related to these activities.
Wedding replaces Alexis Flores on the list. Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally stated: “As alleged in the superseding indictment, defendant Ryan Wedding – a former Olympian – led a transnational criminal organization that murdered innocent people and put thousands of kilograms of narcotics on our streets.”
Akil Davis commented on Wedding's transition from an athlete to a fugitive: “Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada.”
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Wedding's arrest or conviction. This reward supplements an existing $50,000 offer by the FBI.
Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland 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.”
In June 2024, both Wedding and Andrew Clark were indicted with charges including running a continuing criminal enterprise and committing murder related to this enterprise. Clark was arrested last October by Mexican authorities.
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment in September 2024 against 14 additional defendants connected to this case. It includes charges related to cocaine trafficking from Southern California to Canada through networks run by Hardeep Ratte and Gurpreet Singh.
Liam Price from Royal Canadian Mounted Police emphasized international cooperation: “It’s imperative that Ryan Wedding faces justice for the charges against him.”
If convicted, both Wedding and Clark face mandatory life sentences for their roles in these crimes.
Matthew Allen from DEA's Los Angeles Field Division described Wedding as having "unleashed an avalanche of death and destruction."
The public is urged by law enforcement agencies to provide any information regarding Wedding's whereabouts via various communication platforms like WhatsApp or Signal at +1-424 495-0614.
Photographs and details about Wedding are available on digital billboards as well as fbi.gov. Since its inception in March 1950, 535 fugitives have been listed under "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives," with 496 apprehended or located due to citizen cooperation.
The case involves numerous law enforcement agencies across several countries working together under initiatives like OCDETF (Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces) which aims at dismantling high-level criminal organizations threatening national security.