The United States is offering a $10 million reward for the capture of a former Olympic snowboarder just named to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for drug trafficking and murder. In 2002, Ryan Wedding was a world-class snowboarder, finishing 24th in the parallel giant slalom event at the Olympics in Salt Lake.
But Wedding went rogue after that, allegedly running an international drug ring that transported more than 60 tons of cocaine from Colombia, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada every year. The indictment also implicated him and his accomplices in at least four murders.
One of his partners, Andrew Clark, was arrested in February. But Wedding remains at large.
Matthew Allen of the DEA Division in Los Angeles recently made the announcement of Wedding cracking the 10 Most Wanted list.
“The former Canadian snowboarder unleashed an avalanche of death and destruction, here and abroad,” Allen said. “He earned the name ‘El Jefe’, becoming boss of a violent transnational drug trafficking organization.
“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.”
It’s an amazing fall from grace for the former Olympian, who was first named in search warrants for drugs as far back as 2006, then served four years in prison for attempting to buy large amounts of cocaine from an undercover agent in 2008.
His reputation in the drug trade got larger over the years, with alleged ties to the Hells Angels, and he was eventually rumored to be linked directly with El Chapo as one of his main distributors in Canada.
Known by “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy,” Wedding’s now suspected to be hiding out in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel.
If Ryan Wedding is captured, he faces a minimum sentence of life in prison.
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