Olympic snowboarder accused of running a killer drug cartel

A Canadian snowboarder who previously competed in the Olympics is wanted by authorities for allegedly leading a violent drug cartel that committed murders and smuggled tons of Colombian cocaine from Mexico to the United States and Canada.

Fugitive Ryan Wedding, 43, is charged as a prime suspect alongside 15 other suspects, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) said in a joint statement with Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Thursday.

Investigators say Mr. Wedding allegedly ordered the killings of three people, including an innocent Ontario couple killed in a case of mistaken identity in 2023.

Mr. Wedding, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, is believed to be on the run in Mexico, officials say.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 (£38,000) for his arrest and warns that he “should be considered armed and dangerous”.

Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Los Angeles, said Mr. Wedding and his alleged accomplices “unleashed an avalanche of violent crimes, including brutal murders.”

He added that Wedding “went from dealing with hangups to a life of incessant crime.”

Mr. Wedding, whose nicknames reportedly include “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Enemy of the State,” is accused of eight crimes, including drug trafficking, three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Officials allege that he, along with fellow Canadian Andrew Clarke, run “a Canada-based drug transportation network” that uses trucks and warehouses to transport Colombian cocaine from Mexico to the United States and Canada.

Officials say the gang is also responsible for several shootings in Peel Region, a community in the Greater Toronto Area.