Fugitive Canadian snowboarder faces fresh charges in drug ring case

WASHINGTON, D.C.: A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder wanted for allegedly running a global drug-trafficking operation is now facing new charges tied to the killing of a federal witness, Attorney General Pam Bondi said this week.

Ten other suspects have been arrested under a federal indictment unsealed in California, which accuses Ryan Wedding of arranging the witness's January murder in Colombia to avoid being extradited to the United States.

Authorities are offering up to US$15 million for information leading to Wedding's capture. He is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list. He is believed to be hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel, which investigators say he works with to move vast quantities of drugs into Canada and the U.S.

"Whether you are a street-level drug dealer or an international drug kingpin, we are coming for you," Bondi said. "We will find you, and you will be held accountable."

Wedding — who uses aliases such as "El Jefe," "Public Enemy," and "James Conrad King" — was charged in 2024 with running a trafficking network that moved around 60 tons of cocaine a year using long-haul trucks to ship drugs between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California, and Canada.

Prosecutors say Wedding and his associates posted a photo of the witness on a Canadian website called "the Dirty News," enabling the killers to identify him. The witness was tracked to a restaurant in Medellín in January and shot in the head.

"Wedding put a bounty on the victim's head, wrongly believing the murder would lead to the dismissal of charges against him and prevent his extradition," said Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. "He was wrong."

The U.S. government is also offering rewards of up to $2 million for others involved in the killing.

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