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It’s been close to 25 years since snowboarder Ryan Wedding represented Canada at the Winter Olympics. Authorities say he eventually traded one kind of snow for another, and the man who allegedly oversaw a massive cocaine trafficking operation that landed him on the FBI’s Most Wanted list has finally been apprehended after a lengthy search.
In 2002, Canada sent 150 athletes to Salt Lake City to compete in the Winter Olympics. That included Ryan Wedding, a 21-year-old snowboarder from Ontario who finished in 24th place in the men’s parallel giant slalom.
That was the first and last time he competed in the Olympics, and based on what the law enforcement agencies who’ve kept tabs on him over the past couple of decades have to say, he eventually turned to a new pastime after returning to his native country: selling and smuggling drugs.
Wedding was sentenced to four years in prison after he attempted to buy cocaine from an undercover agent in 2008, and he picked up where he left off after spending a single year behind bars.
Last year, the FBI added him to its Most Wanted list while asserting he had managed to become a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel.
The agency said the man known as “El Jefe” oversaw a smuggling operation that was moving 60 tons of cocaine from Colombia to Los Angeles by way of Mexico on an annual basis and was responsible for orchestrating multiple murders. It initially offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture, but that number was raised to $15 million after he continued to elude them.
It’s unclear if it will be paying out that sum, but he has finally been apprehended after going on the run.
Ryan Wedding, the Olympic snowboarder suspected of being a drug kingpin, was arrested in Mexico
The FBI previously arrested 10 people who have been charged for their role in Wedding’s criminal enterprise, but the ringleader, who was thought to be hiding out somewhere in Mexico, had managed to dodge the law.
The bureau was able to seize some of the lavish purchases he made with his ill-gotten gains, including a motorcycle collection valued at $40 million and a rare Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster with a price tag of around $13 million.
According to Vanity Fair, Wedding was finally arrested in Mexico on Thursday after law enforcement officials in the country executed a raid in the dead of night in conjunction with the FBI Hostage Rescue Team that helped take him into custody in an as-of-yet undisclosed location.
The task force was prepared to “use significant force” after tracking down the 44-year-old. However, he surrendered without any violence following what the outlet describes as an “intense negotiation” before being transported to Los Angeles on Friday morning, where he will officially plead to the slew of charges against him.