The sports enthusiasts out there might have heard about the name Ryan Wedding. He was a former snowboarder who represented Canada at the Olympics during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. Cut to the present, Wedding is now on the list of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
His career has taken a dark turn as he is now accused of running a large narcotics network. Furthermore, he also stands accused of committing brutal murders across North America. A manhunt is underway for the 43-year-old who faces several charges, including the murder of a federal witness in early 2025.
Ryan, who was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, was the Canadian representative at the men’s parallel giant slalom event in 2002. However, he failed to be a contender for the medal and finished in 24th place. But as his sports career soon witnessed a decline, little did anyone know that he would foray into a totally different route.
The US Department of State offers a reward of up to $15 million for info leading to the arrest &/or conviction of #FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Ryan James Wedding, wanted for allegedly running & participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation: https://t.co/YyLpIU4Nmi pic.twitter.com/3DdiopiL9W
— FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) November 19, 2025
Wedding now stands accused of building a vast narcotics supply pipeline, hailed as one of the most notorious traffickers by the investigators in recent times. His system includes transporting cocaine from Colombia through Mexico into Canada and the US.
Reportedly, his narcotics empire has become so mammoth that the shipments are being measured in tonnes rather than kilograms. According to the officials, the former snowboarder goes by the aliases of ‘Public Enemy’, ‘El Jefe’, ‘Jesse King’, and ‘James Conrad King.’
His trafficking syndicate is also said to have a connection with the Sinaloa Cartel. During a press briefing, US Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that Ryan Wedding is overseeing “one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations.”
Wedding is primarily responsible for transmitting large quantities of cocaine into North American cities, as well as conducting murders in retaliation to protect his narcotics empire.
Bondi stated, “Wedding collaborates closely with the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, to flood not only American but also Canadian communities with cocaine coming from Colombia.”
She further said that Ryan’s organization is responsible for importing around six metric tons of cocaine a year into LA through trucks from Mexico. Back in 2010, the former Olympian was convicted on charges of narcotics trafficking and served four years in prison.
His most recent charge includes that of murdering a federal witness, namely Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, in January 2025. According to the prosecutors, Garcia was killed to prevent him from testifying against Wedding. FBI Director Kash Patel also went on to compare him with Pablo Escobar.
Patel said, “Make no mistake about it. Ryan Wedding is a modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar. He’s a modern-day iteration of El Chapo Guzmán.” The US State Department is now offering $15 million as a reward for any information that can lead to Ryan’s arrest, according to First Post.
Ryan Wedding is one of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives – allegedly responsible for an untold amount of Americans suffering through narcotics trafficking. This week, the @FBI and great partners took down a major part of his network – 10+ arrests – and we’re one step closer to… pic.twitter.com/Kz8RGZZRrs
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) November 19, 2025
The narcotics kingpin’s second-in-command was arrested in Mexico in October 2024. According to Pam Bondi, Clark was among the “29 fugitives who arrived in the United States from Mexico a week ago.” Well, it is indeed bewildering how an ex-Olympian went from being a sports maven to a criminal mastermind.
