U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel presented their case on Wednesday against Ryan Wedding, a former Team Canada Olympian who has been identified as a major drug trafficker globally. Bondi and Patel conducted a press briefing in Washington, D.C., accompanied by RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme.
Wedding, a reputed Canadian drug kingpin who participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah as a snowboarder for Canada, is among the FBI’s top 10 most-wanted fugitives. Bondi announced that Wedding faces charges from the U.S. Department of Justice for witness tampering, intimidation, money laundering, and drug trafficking.
Describing Wedding as the head of a highly active and violent drug trafficking network, Bondi revealed that Wedding is accused of orchestrating the murder of a federal witness via a website called “The Dirty News,” which has since been taken down. The victim, identified as Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, was fatally shot in a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia, before testifying against Wedding.
The U.S. State Department has increased the reward for Wedding’s arrest to $15 million US, up from $10 million. Bondi highlighted Wedding’s involvement in smuggling around 60 metric tonnes of cocaine annually into Los Angeles from Mexico, resulting in the indictment of over 35 individuals.
FBI director Kash Patel likened Wedding to a contemporary version of notorious drug lords Pablo Escobar and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, urging the public to share any information on Wedding. Patel emphasized Wedding’s role in creating a drug trafficking and terrorism program of a scale not seen in a long time.
The FBI, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, is leading efforts to apprehend Wedding and his associates. With Wedding being a distinctive figure, standing at six feet four inches tall and weighing between 230 to 250 pounds, Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles division, cautioned that Wedding might alter his appearance to avoid capture.
During the press conference, RCMP Commissioner Duheme acknowledged the collaborative efforts of law enforcement across borders but emphasized that further actions are required. Duheme reported that seven Canadians linked to Wedding’s criminal organization were arrested by the RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police.
Among those detained was Atna Onha, known as Tupac or 2-Pac, from Laval, Que., facing charges of murder, cocaine trafficking, and potential extradition to the U.S. Another arrestee, Edwin Basora-Hernandez, a Dominican national residing in Montreal, allegedly facilitated the murder of a witness. Additionally, Canadian lawyer Deepak Paradkar was arrested for advising Wedding on orchestrating the murder to avoid extradition from Mexico.
The arrests signal ongoing efforts to dismantle Wedding’s alleged criminal empire and the associated criminal activities involving Canadian nationals. Wedding remains at large despite the significant law enforcement actions taken to apprehend him.
