LOS ANGELES, USA — Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder accused by United States authorities of leading a large-scale transnational cocaine trafficking operation and using violence to protect the enterprise, has been arrested, two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation said on Friday, January 23, 2026.
Authorities said additional details were expected to be released at a news conference scheduled for Friday morning.
Wedding, 44, had been sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after being added in March to the bureau’s list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
The State Department and other agencies had offered a reward that was later increased to $15 million for information leading to his arrest and/or prosecution.
In a previous public briefing, Attorney General Pam Bondi said investigators believed Wedding’s organisation was responsible for importing about 60 metric tons of cocaine each year into the Los Angeles area, using semitrucks travelling from Mexico.
F.B.I. Director Kash Patel had compared Wedding to Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, according to reporting and prior government statements.
Investigators said Wedding used multiple aliases, including “Public Enemy,” “El Jefe,” and “Giant.”
Indictments Include Violence and Witness Intimidation Allegations
Wedding has been charged with overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise and “enriching himself with its laundered drug proceeds,” according to the reporting and the allegations described by prosecutors and investigators.
In a superseding indictment filed in September 2024, Wedding was charged with attempted murder and other counts linked to the alleged drug organisation.
In November, a grand jury indictment was unsealed accusing Wedding in the death of a federal witness who was expected to testify against him.
The witness was fatally shot at a restaurant after Wedding allegedly “placed a bounty” on the witness and used a Canadian website to locate him and his wife, the report said.
Authorities described the case as ongoing.
