Topics: Olympics, United States
A former Olympic snowboarder who is allegedly behind one of the world's most violent drug trafficking organisations is in police custody following his arrest, according to reports.
Ryan Wedding, a former snowboarder who represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics, was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in March last year.
The 44-year-old is wanted for allegedly 'running a transnational drug trafficking network that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States'.
As per the FBI's official website, Wedding is also suspected of "orchestrating multiple murders and an attempted murder in furtherance of these drug crimes".
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Akil Davis, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. said: “Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada.
"The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man, and his addition to the list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, coupled with a major reward offer by the State Department, will make the public our partner so that we can catch up with him before he puts anyone else in danger.”
The FBI later put out a $15,000,000 reward for information leading to Wedding's arrest and/or prosecution.
Last month, FBI director Kash Patel compared Wedding to two of the most infamous drug lords in recent memory.
“Make no mistake,” Patel said. “Ryan Wedding is a modern-day iteration of Escobar and Guzmán. He is responsible for engineering a narco-trafficking and narco-terrorism program that we have not seen in a long time.”
On Friday, two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told NBC News that Wedding is now in custody.
It is said authorities will announce more details on his arrest at a Friday morning news conference.
The FBI recently released never-before-seen photos of a $40 million seizure of motorbikes believed to be owned by Wedding.
Authorities in Mexico carried out a series of raids on four properties and have seized dozens of items, including 62 high-end motorcycles, two vehicles, methamphetamine, marijuana, artwork and ammunition, as well as documents.
Two Olympic medals were also seized, according to a report from CTV News, although officials did not publicly release who they belonged to as Wedding never made it to a podium in his 2002 appearance at the Winter Olympics.
Alongside the images, a statement from the FBI read: "This month, Mexican authorities executed multiple search warrants and seized a large number of motorcycles with an estimated value of approximately $40 million USD believed to be owned by FBI’s Top Ten Fugitive Ryan James Wedding."
The statement added: "This successful seizure is a result of collaborative efforts among Mexican authorities, the FBI, @RCMP and @LAPDHQ."
