In brief
Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, is wanted for running a multi-national drug trafficking network and is now facing additional charges for allegedly orchestrating the murder of a federal witness to avoid extradition. With authorities offering a $15 million reward for his capture, Wedding's criminal network is under intense scrutiny following the witness's assassination in Colombia. The U.S. government is also offering rewards for accomplices involved in the crime.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Olympic snowboarder for Canada, Ryan Wedding, is wanted by U.S. authorities for operating a large-scale drug trafficking network and has recently been charged in connection with the murder of a federal witness. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that ten other defendants were arrested in California, linked to a federal indictment that claims Wedding orchestrated the assassination in January in Colombia, hoping to prevent his extradition to the United States.Authorities have placed Wedding among the FBI's '10 Most Wanted' fugitives, offering up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest. Reports indicate that he is currently in Mexico, likely under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel, coordinating the movement of significant drug shipments 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 stated during a press conference.Wedding, who has multiple aliases including 'El Jefe' and 'Public Enemy', is accused of managing a drug operation that trafficked around 60 tons of cocaine annually using long-haul semi-trucks across international borders.The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Wedding and his associates used a Canadian website known as 'the Dirty News' to identify and target the witness, who was ultimately killed in Medellín, Colombia. This violent elimination was driven by Wedding’s false belief that it would lead to the dismissal of charges against him.Wedding placed the bounty on the victim’s head, and the erroneous belief that the victim’s death would result in the dismissal of criminal charges against him and his international drug trafficking ring, and would further ensure that he was not extradited to the United States. He was wrong,” said Bill Essayli, the prosecuting attorney for the Central District of California.The U.S. government is also offering rewards of up to $2 million for information on others involved in the witness's murder.
