Once an acclaimed athlete, former Canadian Olympian Ryan Wedding is now a fugitive, accused of masterminding a violent international drug trafficking operation. His fall from grace illuminates a dramatic shift from sports to alleged criminal endeavors across North America.
Ryan Wedding is now at the center of international law enforcement efforts, facing charges of drug trafficking, murder, and leading a criminal organization linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, NPR reported.
Wedding began his journey into notoriety as a talented snowboarder, representing Canada in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. His athletic career, which reached its peak at an event symbolizing peace and unity, starkly contrasts with his alleged criminal activities today.
Wedding escalated his interactions with the law after his sports career ended. Authorities convicted him in 2009 for drug-related offenses, and Canadian officials have monitored him since then. His past revealed deeper ties to illegal activities that eventually dominated his life.
U.S. authorities reported that Wedding established and led a complex drug trafficking ring after his sporting career ended. He orchestrated cocaine shipments from Colombia to Mexico, and then into the U.S. and Canada, showcasing a highly sophisticated operation.
As his alleged criminal activities expanded, Wedding's involvement escalated to violent crimes. U.S. officials claim he personally ordered several killings to maintain control over his drug empire and to resolve internal disputes within his network.
The FBI gathered evidence suggesting that Wedding collaborated with one of the most feared organizations in the drug world, the Sinaloa Cartel. This partnership expanded his drug distribution networks and elevated the scale of his operations to a global level.
Legal efforts to stop Wedding's activities culminated last month when the U.S. Central District Court in Los Angeles issued a federal arrest warrant. The indictment, first filed in June, charged him and 16 others, highlighting the extensive reach of his alleged criminal network.
The FBI named the investigation Operation Giant Slalom, a reference to Wedding's Olympic past, and made significant progress in the case. Investigators, using a mole within his organization, intercepted coded messages on the Threema messaging app. These messages frequently included serial numbers from dollar bills to verify identities involved in his drug transport operations.
Law enforcement seized 1,800 kilograms of cocaine, a large cache of firearms, over $255,400 in cash, and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency from various locations tied to the network during this operation.
Wedding's own threats and actions highlighted the severity of the situation. Specifically, he reportedly threatened to kill the mother of Miami Beach music executive Nahim Jorge Bonilla over an unpaid debt related to cocaine transactions. As a result, law enforcement raided Bonilla's mansion in Aventura, Florida, among other properties.
Additionally, authorities reported that Wedding directly ordered several murders in Ontario, Canada. This revelation reflects the brutal measures he allegedly used to maintain discipline and loyalty within his ranks.
Currently, authorities believe that Wedding is hiding in Mexico, successfully eluding capture by international law enforcement. Meanwhile, law enforcement has arrested twelve of the sixteen defendants named alongside him in the indictment, with some taken into custody in Canada and others in the U.S. Consequently, the investigation continues to unfold, highlighting the extensive reach of the criminal network.
If captured and convicted, Wedding will face a potential life sentence in federal prison, marking a stark departure from the Olympic podium to a possible permanent residence behind bars. Furthermore, his charges, which include murder, attempted murder, and leading a continuous criminal enterprise, underscore the gravity of the allegations against him.
Matthew Allen of the DEA’s Los Angeles division commented on Wedding's dramatic shift in life trajectory, stating, “They have triggered an avalanche of violent crimes, including brutal murders. Wedding, the Olympian snowboarder, went from navigating slopes to contouring a life of incessant crimes.” Thus, his fall from grace serves not only as a personal catastrophe but also as a chilling reminder of the unpredictable turns life can take when one strays far from the law.
