Ryan James Wedding stood at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics as a 20-year-old Canadian snowboarder representing his nation in parallel giant slalom, a legitimate athlete with Olympic credentials and national pride. 2 decades later, the FBI has placed him on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, offering a record-breaking $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction. The story starts with his early promise.
A Canadian Star With Deep Roots
Born September 14, 1981, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Ryan Wedding was a snowboarding prodigy. He made Canada’s National Ski Team at 15, won bronze at the 1999 Junior World Championship, and claimed silver in 2001. With family ties to Mount Baldy and national coaching, Salt Lake City looked like a beginning, not an ending. Yet disappointment can redirect ambition.
Olympic Reality Hits Hard
Wedding finished 24th at the 2002 Olympics, respectable to most, crushing to him. He returned to Vancouver, enrolled at Simon Fraser University, got into bodybuilding, and worked as a bouncer. After 2 years, he dropped out and turned to real estate speculation. Authorities say the funding source was a marijuana grow operation. It was the first hidden lever.
A Raid That Changed Nothing
On September 22, 2006, the RCMP raided Eighteen Carrot Farms, a suburban cannabis site tied to Wedding. Officers found 6,800 marijuana plants, about $10 million in dried cannabis, plus a shotgun and ammunition. Wedding was not there, and prosecutors could not charge him. He walked away untouched, leaving what criminologists call a “critical intervention window” closing quietly. Then the stakes jumped.
The Shift To Cocaine
By June 2008, Wedding moved from marijuana to cocaine. He flew to San Diego with an associate, believing they had a real supplier, but federal agents were watching from touchdown. He was arrested trying to buy 24 kilograms of cocaine from an undercover FBI source. In 2010, he was convicted and sentenced to 4 years. Freedom arrived quickly.
Prison Ended, Cartel Life Began
Upon release from federal custody in 2011, Wedding faced a choice between rehabilitation and deeper crime. Authorities allege he fled to Mexico instead of returning to Canada. There, he did not merely associate with the Sinaloa Cartel; he became “high-ranking,” using aliases including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy.” How did a convicted trafficker gain that kind of access?
Why Sinaloa Wanted Him
The cartel connection was not random. Wedding brought North American contacts, operational discipline, and entrepreneurial experience. From 2011 to 2023, investigators say he built a transnational cocaine network using Sinaloa routes while keeping autonomy. FBI Director Kash Patel said, “Ryan Wedding is a modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar. He’s a modern-day iteration of El Chapo Guzmán.” That comparison frames what prosecutors found.
60 Metric Tons A Year
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a November 2025 press conference, “His organization is responsible for importing approximately 60 metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles from Mexico.” She added, “60 metric tons is approximately 40 cars, the weight of 40 standard cars.” At $25,000 to $35,000 per kilogram wholesale, that implies $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion annually. Yet drugs were only 1 layer.
The Route North Kept Running
Prosecutors describe a supply chain starting in Colombia, moving through Mexico, and landing at Los Angeles “stash houses.” From there, “long-haul semi-trucks” allegedly carried loads into Canada via established corridors. Co-conspirators Hardeep Ratte and Gurpreet Singh, both from Ontario, ran Canadian distribution. In March 2024, agents documented 293 kilograms delivered, then intercepted 375 kilograms in April 2024. But money proved harder to seize than cocaine.
Laundering On Multiple Continents
Wedding’s organization could not sit on cash from $1 billion-plus cocaine revenue. Investigators say it used a transnational laundering structure spanning continents. Toronto jeweler Rolan Sokolovski of Diamond Tsar allegedly moved “millions of dollars in drug proceeds using cryptocurrency,” masking flows through jewelry and high-value assets. Former Italian special forces member Gianluca Tiepolo allegedly managed luxury vehicles through Stile Italiano S.R.L. and UK-based TMR Ltd. Another figure pushed it further.
A Lawyer Crosses The Line
Canadian attorney Deepak Balwant Paradkar, 62, is accused of becoming an enabler, not a shield. Prosecutors say he “introduced Wedding to drug traffickers,” “helped Wedding with bribery and murder,” and “allowed Wedding and his associates to eavesdrop on privileged communications” involving clients Wedding “wished to murder.” Payments allegedly included luxury watches and illicit retainers. Arrested in late 2024, he faced $5.25 million Canadian bail (about $3.9 million). The bail hearing turned unusually personal.
“Prove Me Right,” The Judge Said
In December 2024, Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden approved Paradkar’s bail but addressed his wife, Mandy Taylor Paradkar, directly. “He’s only getting out because of you,” Bawden said. “If he screws up, he won’t ever live with you again. Prove me right.” Conditions included an ankle monitor, house arrest, and constant spousal supervision. The judge found it “very unlikely” Paradkar would “attempt to go underground.” What happened outside court moved faster.
A Garage Worth $40 Million
In December 2024, Mexican authorities searched 4 properties in Mexico City and the state of Mexico, seizing 62 high-end motorcycles valued at $40 million. The haul included vintage racing Ducatis from the 1980s through early 2000s, limited MotoGP replicas, Paul Smart-Edition Ducatis, and a rare Ducati SuperMono. Investigators also suspected Valentino Rossi’s 1996 Aprilia RS125R race bike. But two wheels were not his flashiest asset.
The Mercedes Only 6 People Could Buy
In November 2024, federal investigators seized a 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Roadster valued around $13 million. Only 6 Roadsters were ever made, rarer than many aircraft. The FBI posted the image, drawing instant attention to how cartel-linked money purchases museum-grade vehicles. Paperwork showed Rolan Sokolovski signed the purchase agreement at a Miami dealership. The car was first sourced for a prominent rapper, then acquired through banking channels that appeared legitimate. Still, the most telling item seized was smaller.
Olympic Medals In A Crime Scene
Mexican authorities also found 2 Olympic medals among items taken from Wedding’s properties. They were not gold medals, since he placed 24th, but they represented his legitimate past. Investigators treated them as evidence, a symbol of how completely his identity inverted from Team Canada athlete to international fugitive. The medals were expected to return to Canada through diplomatic proceedings. However, symbolism quickly gave way to violence that prosecutors tied directly to him.
Ontario Murders Spark Wider Fear
On November 20, 2023, gunmen entered a home on Mayfield Road in Caledon, Ontario, and opened fire. Jagtar Sidhu, 57, and Harbhajan Sidhu, 55, were killed. Their daughter, Jaspreet Kaur Sidhu, was shot 13 times and survived. Prosecutors say Wedding and Andrew Clark ordered the attack over a stolen 300-kilogram cocaine shipment that had “passed through Southern California,” with the family apparently mistakenly targeted. Then another killing was alleged.
A Witness Killed In Medellín
On January 31, 2025, federal witness Jonathan Acebedo-García, “Victim A,” was dining in Medellín, Colombia, when assassins shot him 5 times in the head with a silenced weapon and fled on a high-powered motorcycle. Prosecutors allege Wedding placed a multi-million-dollar bounty after learning the witness would testify. They say a Canadian website posted the witness’s photo to aid targeting. Prosecutors also allege Paradkar advised murder could trigger dismissal, a disastrous claim. Could anyone have stopped it?
A Warning Reached Police First
A British Columbia woman, Brittani Russell, said she reported a “Missing Informant” website photo and threats to the RCMP on December 18, 2024, providing screenshots. Six weeks later, on January 31, 2025, the witness was murdered in Medellín. “Today I lost all faith in Canadian law enforcement,” Russell wrote afterward, saying warnings were brushed aside. Whether stronger coordination could have helped remains unknowable, but the timeline raised hard questions for investigators. The U.S. response soon escalated dramatically.
The Biggest Athlete Bounty Ever
On March 6, 2025, the FBI put Wedding on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, offering $10 million. By November 2025, after indictments tied him to the Medellín witness killing, the U.S. Department of State raised it to $15 million, the largest reward ever for a former Olympic athlete. Kash Patel repeatedly compared him to Escobar and El Chapo. Pam Bondi said, “He is the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada.” Yet the manhunt still has gaps.
Still Free, Still A Target
Today, Wedding is still at large, believed to be hiding in Mexico under Sinaloa Cartel protection. More than 30 co-conspirators have been arrested, and more than $53 million has been seized, but he remains elusive. Retired DEA agent Steve Murphy said Wedding could be caught “in relatively short order” if Mexico allowed U.S. special operations independent action, which has not happened. Agents keep tracing cryptocurrency and human sources. One decision, betrayal, or payment could end it.
Sources:
16 Defendants Charged in Superseding Indictment Alleging Bulk Shipments of Cocaine to Canada, Four Murders. U.S. Department of Justice, October 17, 2024
Operation GIANT SLALOM. Royal Canadian Mounted Police, November 19, 2025
10 Arrested in Federal Indictment Charging Olympic Athlete-Turned-Cocaine Trafficker with Ordering Murder of Witness in January. U.S. Department of Justice, November 19, 2025
Treasury Sanctions Former Canadian Olympian and Notorious Drug Trafficker Ryan Wedding and His Criminal Network. U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 24, 2025
Notice of OFAC Sanctions Actions. Federal Register, November 24, 2025
FBI releases images of seized motorcycles believed to belong to former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding. ABC News, December 16, 2024