Former Olympian Turned Drug Trafficker Arrested After Year on FBI’s Most Wanted List [WATCH]

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged transnational drug trafficker Ryan Wedding has been arrested after spending nearly a year on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, according to reports citing law enforcement sources, as reported by The New York Post.

Wedding, a Thunder Bay, Ontario native, had been sought by federal authorities for allegedly leading a large-scale international drug trafficking organization responsible for moving massive quantities of cocaine from Colombia into the United States and Canada.

Authorities have also accused him of involvement in multiple homicides connected to his alleged narcotics operation.

BREAKING: FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive Ryan Wedding ARRESTED, wanted on charges of running a transnational drug trafficking group responsible for 60 TONS of cocaine being imported from Mexico

LET’S GO! Another fugitive caught under this FBI

Law and order in FULL FORCE. pic.twitter.com/KGf1UN4bxF

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 23, 2026

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Law enforcement officials are expected to provide additional details regarding Wedding’s arrest during a Friday morning news conference, according to NBC News, which first reported the development.

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Wedding had been on the run for more than a year before his apprehension.

Wedding was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in early 2025.

In November, federal authorities increased the reward for information leading to his arrest or prosecution to $15 million, the highest bounty offered for any fugitive on the FBI’s list at the time.

Before his alleged criminal activities, Wedding competed internationally as a snowboarder and represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.

Federal officials allege that after his athletic career ended, Wedding became deeply involved in organized crime, eventually overseeing a sophisticated cocaine trafficking network.

According to authorities, Wedding allegedly smuggled approximately 60 metric tons of cocaine into the United States through Mexico, with drugs entering primarily through Southern California before being distributed across U.S. cities and into Canada.

“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,” said Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, when Wedding was placed on the Most Wanted list in March.

In November, Wedding was charged with ordering the killing of a federal witness who was scheduled to testify against him, further escalating efforts to locate and arrest him.

WHO IS RYAN WEDDING?

Today, representatives from the @TheJusticeDept hold a press conference to shed light on a current case regarding drug trafficker and fugitive Ryan Wedding.

“ An indictment was unsealed against Ryan James Wedding, a former snowboarder who was once an… pic.twitter.com/F1mxS2SAgy

— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) November 19, 2025

Investigators previously believed Wedding was living in Mexico and working closely with the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most powerful drug trafficking organizations.

The FBI had warned that Wedding may have taken extreme measures to avoid capture, including altering his appearance, changing his hair, or possibly undergoing plastic surgery.

Authorities have also linked Wedding to additional violent crimes. His alleged second-in-command, Andrew Clark, 34, a Canadian citizen, was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 and later extradited to the United States to face federal charges.

Federal officials allege that Wedding and Clark directed the November 2023 murders of two members of a family in Ontario, Canada.

Investigators say the killings were carried out in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that had passed through California. The FBI has also alleged that the pair ordered another murder in May 2024 related to an unpaid drug debt.

Wedding’s arrest brings an end to one of the FBI’s most high-profile fugitive manhunts in recent years.

Federal prosecutors are expected to pursue multiple charges related to drug trafficking, conspiracy, and homicide as the case moves forward.

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