Manhunt expands for ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding as FBI offers $15 million reward
The nationwide hunt for former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding is intensifying, as federal authorities announce a reward of $15 million for any tip leading to his capture.
(NBC)- The nationwide hunt for former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding is intensifying, as federal authorities announce a reward of $15 million for any tip leading to his capture. Wedding, once a 2002 Winter Olympian for Canada, is now accused of operating a massive international drug empire and ordering the murder of a federal witness.
FBI Director Kash Patel called Wedding “a modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar” and “El Chapo Guzman,” underscoring the scale of the investigation.
Wedding faces new federal charges as part of Operation Giant Slalom, a sweeping probe that links him to a transnational trafficking network and the killing of a witness in Colombia. Prosecutors say the witness was set to testify about Wedding’s drug operations when he was shot to death in a Medellín restaurant.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “The witness was gunned down in a restaurant in Medellin before he could testify against Wedding.”
The Justice Department has announced ten arrests connected to the murder plot, but the 44-year-old remains at large in Mexico. Authorities believe he is being protected by the Sinaloa cartel, with whom he allegedly worked to traffic as much as 60 tons of cocaine each year from Mexico into Los Angeles.
“He’s killing our kids, our friends, our relatives,” Bondi said. “This guy is responsible for a tremendous amount of that horror.”
Wedding, who once competed on the world stage for Canada, was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list last March.
So far, the investigation has resulted in 35 indictments, along with the seizure of more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine, $3 million in cryptocurrency, and $13 million in assets. Officials say Wedding may have changed his appearance and is believed to be using the alias “El Jefe.”
Mexican authorities are assisting in the ongoing search.
