Ryan Wedding: Olympian and Alleged Drug Kingpin Arrested Following Yearlong Manhunt

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The FBI has apprehended one of its most wanted alleged criminals.

Ryan Wedding made a name for himself as an Olympic snowboarder for Team Canada back in 2002.

But according to investigators, he then shifted his focus to international drug trafficking.

The FBI claims that Wedding is one of the most feared kingpins on the planet and has ordered murders of multiple witnesses — and now he’s finally in custody.

Ryan Wedding of Canada competes in the qualifying round of the men's parallel giant slalom snowboarding event during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games at the Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah. — Ryan Wedding of Canada competes in the qualifying round of the men’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding event during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games at the Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah. ( Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

According to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Wedding was arrested in Mexico on Thursday.

“At my direction, Department of Justice agents @FBI have apprehended yet another member of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List: Ryan Wedding, the onetime Olympian snowboarder-turned alleged violent cocaine kingpin,” Bondi wrote on X (formerly Twitter) today.

“Wedding was flown to the United States where he will face justice,” she continued, adding:

“This is a direct result of President Trump’s law-and-order leadership. Under @POTUS, criminals have no safe harbor.

An FBI Ten Most Wanted poster is displayed during a news conference announcing the indictment of a former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, charging him with murder and money laundering in connection to a drug trafficking organization at the Justice Department on November 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice. We are grateful to our incredible Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for assisting us in this case.”

“This is a huge day for a safer North America, and the world, and a message that those who break our laws and harm our citizens will be brought to justice,” Patel wrote on his own X account.

The FBI has been in pursuit of Wedding since November of 2025, when he was charged with murder and money laundering and added to the agency’s Most Wanted list.

The US government offered a $15 million bounty for his arrest.

A reward poster for the arrest of Ryan James Wedding is visible following a news conference announcing the indictment of a former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, charging him with murder and money laundering in connection to a drug trafficking organization at the Justice Department on November 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Investigators claim that Wedding made tens of millions by shipping more than 130,000 lbs of cocaine a year.

Wedding has also been indicted for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to export cocaine, continuing criminal enterprise, and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and drug crime.

Wedding’s alleged accomplice Andrew Clark was arrested in Mexico in 2024. He has since been handed over to the United States to face trial.

The FBI and DOJ are planning to reveal more information at a press conference later today.