Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin, may still be the loose, but the FBI now has his motorcycles. Or, at least, a good chunk of them.
“This month, Mexican authorities executed multiple search warrants and seized a large number of motorcycles with an estimated value of approximately $40 million USD believed to be owned by FBI’s Top Ten Fugitive Ryan James Wedding,” the FBI wrote in a post on X. “This successful seizure is a result of collaborative efforts among Mexican authorities, the FBI, RCMP and LAPDHQ.”
The went on to reiterate there is a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Ryan Wedding’s arrest and/or conviction. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) only recently raised the reward. They believe he is currently living in Mexico.
Last month, the FBI seized a rare 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR – one of just six ever made. They also connected Ryan Wedding to that vehicle. Experts estimate it to be worth around $13 million.
Ryan Wedding allegedly controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world
Wedding, who competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, is the alleged kingpin of a very large cocaine trafficking ring. His organization has trafficked 60 metric tons of cocaine per year, and is responsible for more than $1 billion a year in illegal drug proceeds.
“He controls one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in this world,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently said about Wedding.
Prosecutors also accuse him of “engaging in witness intimidation tactics such as murder.” Authorities have charged him with directing the November 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Canada and the attempted murder of another member of that family. The attackers performed the assassinations in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that passed through Southern California.
Authorities have also accused Wedding of ordering the murder of a federal witness – who assailants executed with five bullets to the head earlier this year – before he could testify against Wedding