Federal officials have accused a former Olympic snowboarder of leading a transnational drug trafficking ring that shipped large quantities of cocaine and hired hitmen for the murder of multiple people.
The Department of Justice announced Thursday that Ryan Wedding, 43 years old, an ex-Olympic athlete from Canada, who lives in Mexico now, was among 16 individuals charged in a federal criminal indictment.
U.S. attorney Martin Estrada stated during a briefing that the “prolific, ruthless, and violent” organized crime group sent “literally tons” of cocaine to the United States and Canada.
Estrada said, “They were killers.” “They would use violence against anyone who stood in their path.” “Including murder.”
Estrada claimed that Wedding ran the billion-dollar operation from Mexico for the last 13 years. Estrada claimed that the organization was allegedly moving 60 tons of cocaine a year.
Estrada claimed that the group had used Los Angeles as a hub at one time. He said that they used long haul trucks to transport cocaine from Colombian drug kitchens to Los Angeles stash houses and then shipped the cocaine mainly to Canada, but also the East Coast.
Estrada claims that Wedding and other people made billions in dollars which they then transferred around as cryptocurrency. He said they’re accused by Estrada of laundering a quarter billion dollars between April and September.
The DOJ reported that law enforcement has seized over one ton (one tonne) of cocaine as well as three firearms, ammunition, and 255,400 dollars in U.S. money, plus more than $3.2 Million in cryptocurrency, during its investigation of the Wedding Drug Trafficking Organization.
Indictment alleges also that contract killers were used to assassinate those who stood in the way of the operation. Prosecutors said that the victims were executed in Canada so their families could witness them being murdered.
Estrada stated that two parents were killed in front of their daughters in 2023 in a case involving mistaken identity. He said that the daughter was also shot several times, but she survived.
Prosecutors said that a third victim was murdered over a drug debt, while a fourth was killed in April.
The 16-count superseding charge includes drug charges, criminal enterprise counts, and murder charges in connection with an ongoing criminal enterprise and drug crime.
Prosecutors said that many of the defendants had been arrested in the past few weeks in California Michigan Florida Canada Colombia Mexico. In the next week, several defendants are expected to appear in court in Los Angeles Michigan, and Miami.
Federal officials have said that Wedding is a fugitive, and the FBI will reward up to $50,000 if they can provide any information that leads to his arrest.
Wedding, who also goes by the aliases “El Jefe,” Giant,” and Public Enemy, was charged in the initial indictment. He is now the lead defendant in the superseding charge, according to prosecutors.
He represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City. In the giant parallel Slalom, he finished 24th.
The DOJ stated that if convicted of murder or attempted murder, he would face a mandatory life sentence in federal prison. The charges of continuing criminal enterprise also carry a minimum mandatory sentence of life in federal jail.