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Former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who allegedly ran a drug ring and orchestrated multiple murders, was seen on video being escorted by law enforcement after being captured by the FBI on Friday.
Wedding was escorted in handcuffs off a plane as it landed in Southern California at Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, surrounded by FBI agents. He will face federal charges.
Wedding, 44, surrendered to authorities after a period of negotiations, sources confirmed to Pak Gazette. While the specific terms of that agreement were not known, sources indicated that the former Olympic athlete turned himself in after facing increasing pressure that left him unable to continue fleeing US authorities.
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The FBI has described Wedding as an “extremely violent criminal who is believed responsible for the murder of numerous people overseas.”
Wedding was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in March 2025 and is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking ring that “routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States,” according to the report. FBI.
He is also accused of orchestrating multiple murders and attempted murders as part of his drug trafficking operation.
Wedding and 14 other alleged associates were specifically charged with orchestrating the January 2025 murder of a witness who was shot to death at a restaurant in Colombia. He allegedly placed a bounty on the victim’s head, thinking his death would result in the dismissal of charges against him and the drug trafficking ring he allegedly heads, according to a open accusation in November.
After missing the 1998 Winter Olympics, Wedding qualified for her first and only Olympic Games in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
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Ryan Wedding, wanted by the FBI, was seen practicing a race for the men’s parallel giant slalom at the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Park City on February 13, 2002. (FBI | REUTERS/Jeff J. Mitchell)
In his only event, the men’s parallel giant slalom, Wedding finished in 24th place. Switzerland’s Philipp Schoch won gold, Sweden’s Richard Rikardsson won silver and Chris Klug of the United States took bronze.
After the Olympics, Wedding enrolled at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
Wedding was first linked to criminal activity in 2006. He and another competitive snowboarder were named in a search warrant for a home in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, that was investigated for growing large amounts of marijuana, according to The Vancouver Sun.
Police confiscated 6,800 marijuana plants from that house, but no one was charged.
Wedding was first arrested in 2009 in the United States after traveling with two friends from Vancouver to California to allegedly buy 24 kilograms of Colombian cocaine.
When Wedding stood trial, he claimed he was volunteering for several oncology agencies, was investing in real estate and was training for the 2010 Olympics. But the Canadian Snowboard Federation said he hadn’t competed in years, according to The Vancouver Sun.
Wedding served a four-year prison sentence after agreeing to forfeit more than $121,000 seized during an airport sting operation and agreeing to drop an appeal of his conviction.
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Ryan Wedding of Canada performs a practice run for the men’s parallel giant slalom at the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Park City on February 13, 2002. (REUTERS/Jeff J. Mitchell)
In 2015, he was charged with new drug offenses in Nova Scotia. That time, the police never caught him. He was then on the run until Friday.
Wedding is estimated to have transported more than $1 billion worth of cocaine.
