A former Olympic snowboarder from Canada, accused of a drug trafficking operation for having pretended hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl across southern California in the United States and Canada, was added to the FBI 10 list of 10, announced the authorities on Thursday, March 6.
Ryan James Wedding, 43, is said to have hidden in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa drug cartel or South America or Central America, the federal authorities said at a press conference.
Marriage represented Canada at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and was accused of the drug trafficking operation in October. His partner, Andrew Clark, was arrested in Mexico last year and took detention after being “let out somewhat inexplicably” and brought back to the United States, as well as 28 other fugitives this week, the acting American lawyer Joseph McNally said.
Officials also announced a reward of up to $ 10 million from the United States Department of State for Information leading to the arrest and the condemnation of wedding. They said that the co-leader of the drug ring should be considered armed and dangerous.
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“This sends a strong message to people abroad only if you exploit criminal organizations outside the United States which harm us, we will be aggressive by continuing to you beyond our borders and we will use our full resources to find you,” said McNally.
“This 10 million dollars award … reflects our efforts to eliminate these organizations so that they cannot harm in the United States,” he continued.
As part of the operation, the drugs would be dispatched from Mexico to Los Angeles, where they would be stored in hiding place before being taken north by long-haul half-heads, according to a wedding of October and 15 other people with international trafficking in cocaine and murder. The operation took place at least from January to August 2024, according to federal officials.
The indictment said that the group used several murders and in marriage and in Clark was accused of having commanded on November 20, 2023, murders of two family members in Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug expedition. They would also have ordered the murder of another victim on May 18 for a drug debt.
Clark and another accused were accused of the April 1 murder of another victim in Ontario, Canada.
Wedding, also known by the alias “El Jefe”, “Giant” and “Public Enemy”, is accused of eight crimes, including two conspiracy leaders to distribute controlled substances, a conspiracy chief to export cocaine, a leadership of a continuous criminal business, three murder leaders and an attempted commitment.
“Marriage went from shredding powder to the tracks of the Olympic Games to distribute cocaine powder in the streets of American cities and in its native Canada,” said Akil Davis, deputy director of the FBI field office in Los Angeles. “The alleged murders of his competitors make marriage a very dangerous man.”
Davis said that the addition of wedding to the list of ten most sought -after fugitives, as well as the reward, “will make the public our partner so that we can catch him before putting someone else in danger.”
The authorities have asked anyone with information on the place where the marriage is to call the FBI at 424-495-0614.
The marriage is described as 6 feet and 3 inches high and weighing 240 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. But Thursday, officials said he may have changed his appearance.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
