A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder is wanted by authorities for allegedly running a major drug trafficking organization and orchestrating the murders of anyone seen as a threat.
Ryan Wedding, 43, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, placing 24th overall in the men's parallel giant slalom event, is accused of running a billion-dollar operation out of Mexico for the past 13 years, which moved about 60 tons of cocaine per year. He's one of 16 people named in a federal indictment on charges that include drug counts, criminal enterprise, and murder, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday, per ABC News.
Many of the other defendants have already been arrested in California, Michigan, Florida, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico in recent weeks, with several expected to appear in court in the next week.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for any information leading to the arrest of Wedding, who is being considered a fugitive from the law. He also goes by a handful of aliases, including "El Jefe," "Giant," and "Public Enemy."
In a press briefing on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada described the so-called Wedding Drug Trafficking Organization as "prolific and ruthless," shipping "literally tons of cocaine into the United States and Canada." Estrada said that the group allegedly moved the drug shipments from kitchens in Colombia to stash houses in Los Angeles using long-haul trucks. From there, they would ship the cocaine primarily to Canada, as well as the U.S. East Coast.
The indictment also accused the operation of employing contract killers to assassinate their victims, who were allegedly shot execution-style in front of loved ones. In once instance last year, two parents were shot in front of their daughter in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. The daughter was also shot several times but survived.
"They were killers. Anyone who got in their way they would target with violence. Including murder," Estrada said.
Authorities have already seized more than one ton of cocaine in the investigation, as well as three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, $255,400 in U.S. currency, and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency; which the group allegedly used to launder the billions they made.
Wedding faces a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison if convicted on the murder and attempted murder charges or continuing criminal enterprise charges.
