NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Canadian drug violation defense lawyer Deepak Paradkar was arrested as part of the FBI’s sweeping campaign against former Olympic athlete Ryan Wedding, the FBI and Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder for Team Canada, remains a fugitive on multiple charges, including murder in connection with an ongoing criminal enterprise and drug offences, tampering with a witness, victim or informant, and retaliation against a witness, victim or informant.
Paradkar was described as Wedding’s attorney at the news conference by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. Essayli also claimed that Paradkar advised Wedding to kill a witness in an attempt to dismiss the case.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
An attendee displays a wanted poster during a press conference announcing the indictment of former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, charging him with murder and money laundering in connection with a drug trafficking organization at the Department of Justice on November 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“His lawyer advised him to kill this witness. His lawyer told him, ‘If you kill this witness, the case will be dismissed.’ That lawyer is now in custody and will be extradited and brought to justice here in the United States,” Essayli said.
Meanwhile, the indictment against Paradkar reads: “Defendant Paradkar, and others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, advised defendant Wedding and [Wedding’s accomplice Andrew] Clark that the murder of Victim A would benefit them by causing the federal indictment against them in Boda I and related extradition proceedings to be dismissed.”
The prosecution went on to allege that Paradkar allegedly allowed Clark to “covertly” listen in on a conversation he was having with another accused suspect. The indictment also alleges that while Clark and another defendant were discussing killing another co-defendant, Paradkar advised them to “discuss the matter in a different chat without him present and remove any discussion of the murder plot.”
A U.S. Treasury Department news release issued separate sanctions against Paradkar on Wednesday, as officials accused the lawyer of violating “the trust of his clients and the ethics of his profession” by allowing Wedding and his associates to eavesdrop on privileged communications.
WHO IS RYAN WEDDING? THE OLYMPIAN BECOMES AN ALLEGED MURDERER DRUG BONNET AND MAIN TARGET OF THE FBI
“Paradkar is a Canadian lawyer who has provided a variety of illegal services to Wedding and his drug trafficking organization beyond the scope of a normal attorney-client relationship,” the news release reads.
“Paradkar introduced Wedding to the drug traffickers who have been moving Wedding’s cocaine and has also helped Wedding with bribes and murders.
“Paradkar violated the trust of his clients and the ethics of his profession by allowing Wedding and his associates to spy on privileged communications between Paradkar and his other clients, several of whom Wedding wished to murder. Wedding paid Paradkar with luxury watches and additional fees for these illegal services.”
Wedding ultimately ordered the targeting of a federal witness by posting photos of him online, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed Wednesday. The former Olympian allegedly shared photos of the witness who was due to testify against him on a now-deleted website called “The Dirty News” after he was indicted in 2024, Bondi said.
The witness was then shot to death in a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, on January 31.
Federal officials increased the reward for Wedding’s capture to $15 million on Wednesday.
Wedding, 44, and 14 other alleged associates were accused of orchestrating the January 2025 murder of a witness who was shot to death at a restaurant in Colombia. Authorities said Wedding placed a bounty on the victim’s head thinking her death would lead to the dismissal of charges against him and the drug trafficking ring he is allegedly the head of.
Wedding is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is described as “an extremely violent criminal believed responsible for the murder of numerous people overseas,” according to federal officials.
Wedding is allegedly responsible for trafficking tons of cocaine through Colombia and Mexico for distribution in the United States and Canada and uses cryptocurrencies to hide his wealth. The FBI has said Wedding has ordered dozens of murders in North and Latin America.
Boda participated in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City after missing the 1998 Games. They were the only Olympic Games in which he competed.
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.
The FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police allege that Wedding and Clark coordinated a double homicide in November 2023 in Ontario that involved an innocent couple in a mistaken identity killing, according to the FBI.
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)
Wedding and Clark are also accused of coordinating the murder of another person in May over a drug debt.
The murder and criminal enterprise charges against Wedding carry a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison.
