The FBI has issued an international arrest warrant for Ryan Wedding. The journey of Ryan Wedding’s life has taken him from a successful Olympic athlete to a global drug trafficker and alleged murderer, whom the United States has dubbed the “modern-day Pablo Escobar.”
Olympic dreams dashed
Ryan Wedding was born in 1981 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where his grandfather owned the Mount Baldy ski resort. At the age of 12, he moved with his family to Coquitlam, B.C., where he began snowboarding. He began competing professionally in 1997, winning a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in 1999 and a silver medal in 2001. He qualified for the 2002 Olympics but finished 24th in the men’s giant slalom event. This setback affected his sporting dreams, and he retired from competition after March 2002.
First steps into the world of crime
After the Olympics, Wedding enrolled at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver but dropped out after two years and began working as a bouncer. He soon began growing cannabis in a rural warehouse in Maple Ridge, BC. In 2006, the RCMP raided his farm and seized nearly $10 million worth of cannabis, but he was released without charge.
Arrest and conviction in the United States
In 2008, Wedding began working with a new gang involved in cocaine trafficking. In June 2008, Wedding and two others were arrested in San Diego, California, while meeting with an FBI informant. $100,000 was found hidden in his hotel room. Wedding denied involvement in the cocaine distribution conspiracy, but was convicted after a trial in 2009. In 2010, he was sentenced to four years in prison, despite facing a minimum sentence of ten years. During that time, he apologized to the court and his family and promised to change his life.
Back in Canada after prison and international drug network
Wedding was released from US prison in December 2011 and deported to Canada. But soon after his release, he allegedly became involved in the drug trade again. According to the FBI, he established ties with the Sinaloa Cartel and expanded his organization internationally. In 2013, the RCMP began an investigation against him, and in 2015, raids across Canada resulted in the seizure of more than 200 kilograms of cocaine. Fifteen people were prosecuted, but Wedding was not arrested and allegedly fled to Mexico.
Billion-dollar drug organization and alleged murder
Since 2016, Wedding has allegedly turned his organization into a multi-billion dollar business. His network smuggled drugs from Colombia and distributed them to Mexico, the United States and Canada. According to US charges, Wedding has carried out several murders, including the murder of a Canadian family who was mistakenly targeted. In 2024, another person was killed over a drug debt. At the same time, Wedding began searching for a potential witness, for whom a reward of five million US dollars was offered. Unfortunately, this witness was murdered in Medellin, Colombia, in January 2025. Shmulit
on the FBI’s Most Wanted List
In March 2025, Wedding was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted List. According to court documents, Canadian lawyer Deepak Pradkar advised Wedding that killing the witness could prevent his extradition to the United States. Pradkar was arrested and tried, but was released on bail. So far, 36 people associated with Wedding’s organization have been arrested and charged, including at least eight Canadian citizens. Recent raids in Mexico have seized $40 million worth of motorcycles, artwork and Olympic medals, while the FBI has also seized a rare Mercedes sports car.
Current status and lessons learned
Ryan Wedding’s whereabouts are still unknown, but US authorities believe he is hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel. The US charges against him include drug trafficking, murder and leading an international drug network. A $150 million reward is being offered for his capture, and a joint operation is underway by Canadian, US and Mexican authorities. Wedding’s story is a bitter lesson in how a promising Olympian can become a globally wanted and alleged killer because of his life choices.