A former Olympian has been added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list for allegedly leading a global drug operation that shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine across North America and ordering multiple murders.
Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder and Canadian national, was added to the FBI’s most wanted list during a press conference at the Los Angeles Field Office Thursday.
Wedding, 43, competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in snowboard slalom. In his post-athletics career, authorities say he began operating a vast cocaine trafficking network that shipped the drug from Colombia through Mexico and into Southern California and Canada, where it was distributed to cities across the continent.
During his time leading the operation, Wedding, whose aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy,” ordered the murders of multiple people to protect his drug kingdom.
He ordered the killing of two family members in 2023 in Ontario, Canada, over a stolen drug shipment, federal authorities said. One of those victims survived the attack. Another hit was ordered in May 2024 to settle a drug debt, officials said.
In June 2024, Wedding and his alleged second-in-command, Andrew Clark, 34, were indicted in Los Angeles on charges of running a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and multiple murder counts. Clark was arrested in Mexico last year and was just extradited to the U.S. in recent days.
The indictment alleges that Wedding’s network moved large quantities of cocaine from Mexico to L.A. where it was stored before being transported by truck to Canada. The drug organization allegedly used violence to maintain control, with Clark and another associate accused of carrying out additional killings in Canada in April 2024.
If convicted of the crimes, Wedding and Clark could face mandatory minimum sentences of life in federal prison for the criminal enterprise charge and minimum of 20 years for each murder and attempted murder charge.
A spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Administration called Wedding “unremitting, callous and greed-driven.”
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, described him as a “very dangerous man” who went from “shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets.” Davis said Wedding’s inclusion in the Top 10 Most Wanted list should hopefully bring him to justice without additional blood spilled.
The FBI says Wedding is about 6 feet 3 inches and weighs around 240 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes and often has facial hair. He may also be known under the aliases of “James Conrad King” or “Jesse King.”
Authorities believe he is currently in Mexico, but they have not ruled out that he is currently on the lam in the U.S., Canada or Latin American countries.
The U.S. has authorized a reward of up to $10 million for information to leading Wedding’s capture or conviction. Law enforcement agencies in Canada and Mexico are also assisting in the effort to locate him.
Tips can be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov or through local FBI offices, U.S. embassies, or consulates.
Wedding replaces Alexis Flores on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list, although he remains listed on the overall Most Wanted page. Flores is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 2000 kidnapping and murder of a 5-year-old girl in Philadelphia.
