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Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who had been one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of running a multibillion-dollar drug ring, days after his arrest in Mexico.
Wedding, who was captured with the help of Mexican authorities before being brought to the United States last week to face charges related to drug trafficking and murder, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Early in federal court in Santa Ana, California, where he pleaded not guilty.
In this courtroom sketch, former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, left, and his defense attorney Anthony Colombo, center, appear before Judge John D. Early at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana, California, on January 26, 2026. (Bill Robles via AP)
Wedding was indicted in 2024 on federal charges of running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and other crimes. He is accused of working with Mexican cartels to transport cocaine obtained in Colombia to the United States and from there distribute the drugs to other states and Canada.
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According to the indictment, Wedding is accused of moving up to 60 tons of cocaine between those countries, and his drug trafficking group is believed to be the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada.
FBI Director kash patelwho was present at Wedding’s arrest, said during a news conference Friday that Wedding was working under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel.
“Just to tell you how bad Ryan Wedding is, he went from being an Olympic snowboarder to being the biggest drug dealer of modern times,” Patel said on the tarmac at Ontario International Airport on Friday. “He is a modern El Chapo. He is a modern Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice.
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)
KASH PATEL SAYS CAPTURE OF RYAN WEDDING OLYMPIC CHAPTER IS THE LATEST SUCCESS IN TRUMP’S CRIME AGAINST
“This individual, his organization and the Sinaloa cartel poured narcotics on the streets of North America, killed many of our young people and corrupted many of our citizens. And that ends today.”
Wedding also faces murder charges, including accusations that he orchestrated the 2023 murders of two members of a Canadian family in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment and for ordering a murder over a drug debt in 2024.
Wedding and 14 other alleged associates were also 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 her death would lead to the dismissal of charges against him and the drug trafficking ring he allegedly heads, according to an indictment unsealed in November.
Former Olympian Ryan Wedding is escorted after being captured for alleged drug trafficking. (Courtesy of the FBI)
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Mexican officials claimed that Wedding turned himself in last week, but his defense attorney, Anthony Colombo, challenged this outside court on Monday, claiming that the former Olympian was living in Mexico, not hiding, and that “he was arrested.”
“He didn’t give up.”
The judge ordered Wedding to remain in custody. He is due back in court on February 11 and a trial date has been set for March 24. Wedding faces separate drug charges in Canada.
