Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding arrested

After more than a decade on the run, authorities in the U.S. have captured Canadian Olympian and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding.

Today, the Thunder Bay native was brought back to the U.S. in cuffs after being on the FBI’s most wanted list for charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and murder.

Mexican authorities say that the former Canadian snowboarder turned himself in after he was believed to be hiding under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Today, FBI Director Kash Patel compared Wedding to some of the most notorious drug lords in history.

“He went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco trafficker in modern times. He is a modern day El Chapo. He is a modern day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice,” said Patel.

Speaking from the tarmac at California’s Ontario International Airport, Patel announced that the long-standing manhunt for Wedding came to an end after the 44-year-old Canadian spent years on the run — wanted for allegedly running a drug empire and murder charges.

“And here we are today bringing him to justice for trafficking hundreds of kilos of cocaine and also for the murder of innocent civilians. This individual and his organization and the Sinaloa Cartel poured narcotics into the streets of North America,” said Patel.

Authorities declined to give details of the arrest but Mexico’s security secretary announced on social media that they detained two men from the FBI’s top ten most wanted list, which included a Canadian who they say surrendered voluntarily at the U.S. embassy.

The Associated Press report that a source within the Mexican government says that the Canadian was Wedding.

READ MORE: Lawyers for man accused in Ryan Wedding case argue he’s not a flight risk

“Without getting into operational sensitivities, Ryan Wedding was apprehended last night in Mexico City. And to safeguard the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we will not go into that,” said Patel.

The Thunder Bay native who competed for Canada as a snowboarder in the 2002 Winter Olympics allegedly got deep into the drug underworld following his career.

In 2010, he was convicted and sentenced to prison for cocaine distribution in the U.S., then was released.

American authorities say he allegedly continued to deal drugs and his enterprise grew trans-nationally, including in Canada over the span of a decade.

Wedding was also accused of ordering several drug-related murders, including that of a U.S. federal witness in Colombia in January 2025 before he could testify against him. He is also accused of orchestrating at least four murders in Ontario.

While on the lam, a $15 million reward was on the table for his capture and authorities believed the Olympian was held under protection by the Sinaloa Cartel.

“The arrest of Ryan Wedding is a result of strong, trusted partnership … countless hours and many sacrifices to lead us to where we are at today … we can finally say that our communities, our countries are much safer with the arrest of Ryan Wedding,” said Michael Duheme, RCMP commissioner.

The FBI say they’ve arrested 36 people for their role in Wedding’s drug organization.

The RCMP have said that Wedding faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015.

Wedding is slated to appear in a U.S. court on Monday.

READ MORE: Ontario lawyer accused of advising witness murder in Ryan Wedding case granted bail