US authorities have announced a $10 million (€9.2 million) reward for information leading to the arrest of Canadian ex-Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Wedding, 43, is accused of operating a global drug trafficking ring and orchestrating multiple murders as part of a criminal network.
The US State Department’s reward is part of an operation named “Giant Slalom,” as announced by the FBI on Thursday. Wedding, who is also known by the aliases “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” is implicated in a billion-dollar operation that traffics Colombian cocaine from Mexico to both the US and Canada, alongside being linked to four murders associated with the trafficking network.
According to the FBI, Wedding may currently be residing in Mexico and is considered armed and dangerous. “Wedding transitioned from competing at the Olympics to distributing cocaine on the streets of US cities and in his home country of Canada,” stated Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous individual.”
In June, the US Department of Justice charged Wedding with murder and drug-related crimes. These charges were expanded in September when an indictment revealed that Wedding and his accomplices arranged the transport of approximately 60 tonnes of cocaine annually, using long-haul semi-trucks to move the drugs between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California, and Canada.
As of October, the FBI reported that a dozen individuals had been arrested in connection with the case. US authorities allege that the criminal network was involved in the murder of two family members in Canada as retaliation for a stolen drug shipment due to a mistaken identity, as well as the killings of two additional individuals, according to officials and federal court filings.
“Wedding—a former Olympian—led a transnational criminal organisation that murdered innocent people and flooded our streets with narcotics,” remarked Acting US Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “The reward offered today will aid in bringing this defendant to justice in the United States.” Wedding represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom event.
( Source : euronews )
