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Former Olympic snowboarder added to FBI's most wanted list

Former Olympic snowboarder added to FBI's most wanted list

Yahoo07-03-2025

LOS ANGELES (WJW) – Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, accused of leading a multi-national drug trafficking organization and ordering multiple murders, was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on Thursday.
Officials with the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement during a press conference in Westwood, also confirming that the U.S. Department of State is offering up to a $10 million reward for information leading to the 43-year-old Canada national's arrest.
Last year, Wedding was indicted by a Los Angeles grand jury alongside his alleged second-in-command, 34-year-old Andrew Clark, and 14 other suspects.
The indictment alleges that, between January 2024 and August 2024, the crime organization would transport large shipments of cocaine from Mexico to stash houses in the Los Angeles area before it was delivered to Canada and other locations in the United States with semi-trucks.
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The indictment also alleges that the group would resort to violence, including the murders of two Ontario family members in November 2023 and others in May and April in 2024.
Clark was arrested last October, but Wedding remains on the run.
According to investigators, Wedding previously competed in giant slalom snowboarding during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
'Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,' Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a press release. 'The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man.'
Wedding, also known as 'Giant,' 'El Jefe' and 'Public Enemy,' is believed to be residing in Mexico, but FBI officials said he could also be in the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica or somewhere else entirely.
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He is 6'3″ and roughly 240 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. Officials said he may have a beard or mustache.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts should reach out to their local FBI office or contact the FBI by WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram at +1-424 495-0614.
'The former Canadian snowboarder unleashed an avalanche of death and destruction, here and abroad,' Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Los Angeles Field Division, said in the release. 'He earned the name 'El Jefe', becoming boss of a violent transnational drug trafficking organization. Now, his face will be on 'The Top 10 Most Wanted' posters. He's unremitting, callous and greed-driven. Today's announcement beams an even brighter searchlight on him. We ask that you help us find him.'
Find more information on Wedding here.
Find the full Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list right here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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