Former Olympic snowboarder, alleged drug trafficker Ryan Wedding arrested, ending FBI manhunt

Former Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug trafficker Ryan Wedding was arrested, according to news reports Friday.Wedding, 44, was added to the FBI’s list of 10 most wanted fugitives in March 2025 for allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking organization that imports about 60 metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semitrucks from Mexico, Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said at a news conference, NBC News reported.
Two unnamed law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told the news outlet about the arrest.
Wedding’s nicknames include “Public Enemy,” “El Jefe,” and “Giant,” and FBI Director Kash Patel had compared him to Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Authorities will announce more details on Wedding’s arrest at a news conference on Friday morning.
Wedding, a Canadian former athlete, was charged in a September 2024 superseding indictment with attempted murder and other counts related to the drug trafficking organization.
A grand jury indictment was unsealed in November, charging him with the death of a federal witness who was supposed to testify against him. The witness was fatally shot at a restaurant after Wedding allegedly “placed a bounty” on his head and used a Canadian website to find the witness and his wife, according to authorities.
Wedding is charged with overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise, including engaging in witness intimidation tactics such as murder, and enriching himself with the enterprise’s laundered drug proceeds.

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