Now he's smuggling drugs: FBI looking for former Olympic star!
USA - At the start of the millennium, Ryan Wedding (43) was a celebrated snowboarding star and represented his home country of Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In the meantime, however, he has taken a completely different career path.
The 43-year-old is wanted by the FBI for drug trafficking and multiple murders.
The US law enforcement agency has even offered a reward of 50,000 US dollars (around 46,000 euros) for information leading to his capture.
Specifically, the former parallel specialist is accused of being part of a 16-member ring that regularly smuggled hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia via Mexico and Southern California to the entire USA and Canada.
Wedding is also alleged to have been involved in the planning of a total of four murders linked to the drug offenses, according to the Associated Press.
Among other things, the US authorities accuse the group of killing two members of a rival family in Canada in retaliation for an allegedly stolen drug shipment. However, this was a case of mistaken identity.
Twelve people have already been arrested in the course of the investigation, but Wedding and three others are still at large. According to the FBI, the former athlete could currently be in Mexico. The officers have also already seized cocaine, weapons, ammunition, cash and more than 2.7 million euros in cryptocurrency.
Ryan Wedding is wanted on a federal warrant in the USA
Back in 2010, the ex-snowboarder was sentenced to four years in prison in the United States for the illegal import and distribution of cocaine. After his release, however, he apparently plunged straight back into illegal activities and was charged again in Canada in 2015.
On September 17, 2024, a federal arrest warrant was issued in the United States District Court in Los Angeles.
"He has decided to become a major drug trafficker and a murderer," explained US Attorney Martin Estrada.