‘The most egregious crimes on planet Earth’: Alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding arrested in Mexico City

Canadian former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding is now in the custody of the United States after he surrendered in Mexico City on Thursday night.

United States Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on Friday the arrest of Wedding, who is accused of orchestrating a murderous, multi-billion-dollar drug empire.

Police have previously said that the 44-year-old from Thunder Bay, Ont., ordered at least four murders in and around the Toronto area in the furtherance of his criminal empire.

“He went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco-trafficker in modern times. He is a modern-day El Chapo. He is a modern-day Pablo Escobar. And he thought he could evade justice,” Patel said during a Friday news conference on the tarmac of Ontario International Airport, east of Los Angeles.

“And here we are today, bringing him to justice for trafficking hundreds of kilos of cocaine and also for the murder of innocent civilians,” Patel added.

The FBI later released a video showing Wedding being escorted off a plane after arriving in the U.S.

Prior to his capture, Wedding was listed on the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives list and was reportedly being protected by the notorious Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

The FBI first publicly identified Wedding as a suspect in a sweeping indictment released in October of 2024. At that time, U.S. authorities charged that he was the mastermind behind a drug-trafficking empire that shipped narcotics from Colombia, through Mexico, and into the States and Canada. Nine other Canadians were also named in the indictment.

The Mexico City arrest

The Mexican Secretary of Security, Omar Garcia Harfuch, said in a tweet that Patel visited Mexico on Thursday and departed for the U.S. this morning with two “high-priority targets.”

Patel said those individuals are Wedding and Alejandro Rosales Castillo, a suspect who is not connected to the investigation but was also listed on the FBI’s most wanted list. Castillo was captured last week.

The specifics surrounding Wedding’s arrest are unclear. Patel said he would not comment on the “operational sensitivities” of the case.

“I think it goes without saying, to go down to Mexico to find a guy who’s been on the lam for multiple years for some of the most egregious crimes on planet Earth, takes an inter-agency wide effort led out by President Trump, our DOJ and our partners in Mexico, and we are very grateful for that partnership,” Patel said.

In a separate statement, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ron Johnson, confirmed that Wedding turned himself in to the embassy.

“Wedding’s surrender was the result of the determined work of multiple authorities from both nations including Mexico’s Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) and Attorney General’s Office (FGR), along with U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the FBI,” Johnson said.

Wedding to appear in court Monday

Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said Wedding will be held in custody over the weekend before he makes his first court appearance on Monday.

“While we’re happy about this victory, we have a lot of work ahead of us to prosecute this case and continue our investigation. I want to emphasize; we are still seeking multiple individuals wanted for their roles in this organization. The State Department is still offering a US$2 million reward for information leading to additional arrests,” Davis told reporters at the news conference Friday.

The FBI has said that Wedding used Los Angeles as a hub for his drug-trafficking network, which used planes, boats and long-haul semi-trucks to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine each year.

Patel declined to comment on the US$15-million reward that was being offered up for information leading to Wedding’s arrest.

How did we get here?

Several murders were allegedly carried out in furtherance of Wedding’s operation, according to the FBI, including three deadly shootings in Ontario and one in Colombia, the victim of which was a key witness in the case against Wedding.

His alleged “second-in-command,” Andrew Clark was arrested in 2024. Originally from Toronto, Clark was extradited to the U.S. in early 2025 to face charges in California.

Wedding and Clark’s victims include Jagtar Singh Sidhu and Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu, an Indian couple who were shot and killed in Caledon in a case of mistaken identity in November 2023, according to police. Their daughter, Kaur Sidhu, 28, survived.

The pair also allegedly directed the murder of Mohammed Zafar in Brampton over a drug debt in May 2024. Clark is charged in the April 2024 Niagara Falls slaying of 29-year-old Randy Fader alongside co-accused Malik Damion Cunningham.

In November, the FBI arrested several more individuals linked to operation, including Wedding’s lawyer Deepak Paradkar, who allegedly advised him to kill the federal witness who was gunned down in Colombia in an effort to get the charges against him dismissed.

A lengthy criminal past

Prior to allegedly becoming involved with the cartel, Wedding competed for Team Canada in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He finished 24^th. He did not compete in any subsequent Olympic games.

• READ MORE: What we know about the Canadians busted in an international drug ring led by a former Olympic athlete

In 2006, Wedding was named, but never charged, in a Maple Ridge, B.C., search warrant that was investigating an illegal marijuana grow-op. Two years after that, he was arrested, and then convicted, for trying to buy cocaine from a U.S. government agent and sentenced to four years in prison.

U.S. authorities previously alleged that Wedding resumed drug trafficking after his release from prison for his 2010 conviction. The RCMP has said that Wedding faces what they described as “unresolved” drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015.

‘A great day for public safety in Canada’: RCMP head

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme issued a statement on Wedding’s arrest following Friday’s news conference. In it, he congratulated the FBI on its leadership in the investigation.

“This is a great day for public safety in Canada. The capture of Ryan Wedding after a years-long investigation, and this most recent achievement, demonstrates the importance of international collaboration and the success that can be achieved when law enforcement shares intelligence,” he said.

Duheme added that the RCMP worked closely with the FBI throughout the investigation in Canada and around the world.

“Organized crime transcends borders and continually adapts. International partnerships remain critical. Working alongside the FBI enables the RCMP to more effectively confront and disrupt criminal operations.”

Wedding was at the top of his snowboarding game before turning to life of crime: acquaintance

Wedding was going to be the next big thing in Canadian snowboarding before he descended into a life of crime, says a former acquaintance.

In an interview Friday, Ross Rebagliati, who won a gold medal in the men’s giant slalom snowboarding event at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, said he met Wedding as he was just starting his snowboarding career.

“I was about 10 years older than him, and at the end of my career, and Ryan was just 18 or 19, and he was like 6’3. You know, he looked like Superman. He was going to be the next, and pretty much was, the next best guy on tour that we had seen,” Rebagliati said.

Rebagliati recalled Wedding having “good family” support when he knew him, remembering that his mother and father attended all his races.

But his disappointing result at the 2002 Olympics played at least a small part in shaping Wedding’s future, according to Rebagliati, who emphasized that Canadian athletes at that time were hurting for funding.

“When he didn’t perform, you know, at the top of his game in Salt Lake City, then he probably was thinking like, ‘What’s the next thing that I can do to earn an income?’”