Who is Ryan Wedding? Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and FBI most wanted fugitive arrested in major drug and murder

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, once a promising athlete who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, has been arrested after spending years on the run as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives. The 44-year-old was captured in Mexico on Friday (January 23), ending a high-profile manhunt tied to allegations of leading a massive transnational cocaine trafficking network and ordering multiple murders.

US officials confirmed the arrest, with Attorney General Pamela Bondi announcing the development on social media.

Pamela Bondi's statement

"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 posted. "Wedding was flown to the United States where he will face justice," she added.

From Olympic slopes to alleged drug kingpin

Ryan Wedding represented Team Canada in parallel giant slalom snowboarding at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, finishing as the 24th-best in the world at the time. His athletic career took a sharp turn after legal troubles emerged.

In 2008, Wedding was arrested in a sting operation in San Diego, California, alongside two others for conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine. The group had travelled from Canada to buy the drug as part of a Vancouver-based organization. Authorities seized $100,000 in cash from their hotel room. While his co-defendants pleaded guilty, Wedding went to trial, was convicted in 2009, and sentenced to four years in prison in 2010.

At his sentencing, Wedding referenced his sports past, stating his personal goal was "to rebuild his reputation."

Escalating charges and international operation

After his release around 2011, prosecutors allege Wedding rebuilt his life around crime. A superseding indictment in October 2024 charged him with running a criminal enterprise, cocaine trafficking, and murder across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Colombia.

Officials claim his operation smuggled multi-ton quantities of cocaine, often via semitrucks from Mexico into Los Angeles and onward to Canada. The network reportedly generated more than $1 billion a year in illegal proceeds. Authorities believed Wedding hid in Mexico under Sinaloa cartel protection.

The most serious accusations involve murder. Prosecutors say Ryan Wedding ordered killings, including the November 2023 murders of Ontario couple Jagtar Sidhu, 57, and Harbhajan Sidhu, 55, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. He also allegedly directed the May 2024 killing of another individual over a drug debt, plus the murder of a federal witness.

Wedding faced a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture after joining the FBI's Top Ten list in March 2025.

What comes next for the former athlete

Ryan Wedding will now face federal charges in the United States, with potential additional proceedings in Canada related to earlier trafficking allegations.