Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding was indicted on murder and money laundering charges on Wednesday in connection with alleged drug trafficking from Canada into the United States.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced during a news conference that Wedding 44, is wanted by the FBI in connection withwith a “transnational criminal enterprise.”
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, charged Wedding with witness intimidation, murder, and money laundering.
“He controls one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in this world,” Bondi said during the news conference. “He is the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada.”
Wedding is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list; a $15 million reward is being offered by the FBI for his capture.
In a news release, the Department of the Treasury stated that Officials say Wedding is believed to be living in Mexico and is being protected by the Sinaloa cartel.
Wedding, who competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, has been linked to at least four murders in Ontario. The Department of the Treasury said he is responsible “for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine through Colombia and Mexico for distribution in the United States and Canada.”
Bondi said Wedding’s organization is responsible for importing 60 metric tons of cocaine to the U.S. from Mexico each year.
“His criminal organization uses cryptocurrency to move and launder the proceeds of drug trafficking, concealing vast sums of illicit wealth,” the Department of the Treasury said.
“He’s responsible for a narco terrorism program we have not seen in a long time,” said FBI Director Kash Patel, who was with Bondi at the news conference. “You do not get to be a drug dealer and evade the law.”
More than 35 people have been indicted so far in connection with the case, Patel added.
Bondi said Wedding is accused of killing a U.S. federal witness, who was gunned down in a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia. The shooting occurred before the witness could testify against Wedding, she said..
A $2 million reward is also being offered for information leading to those involved in the murder of the witness.