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Fugitive Ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding Charged with Leading Cocaine Ring, Ordering Killings in Ontario

Oct 17, 2024, 09:32 PM

Ryan James Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who competed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, has been charged by U.S. authorities with leading a transnational drug trafficking organization described by the FBI as a 'drug lord'. Wedding, 43, and 15 others are named in a federal indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging that the group trafficked hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Southern California and into Canada, operating drug stash houses in Los Angeles. The organization is accused of laundering $250 million via cryptocurrency within five months. The charges also include allegations that Wedding ordered multiple killings in Ontario, including a double homicide in Caledon and fatal shootings in Brampton and Niagara Falls, linked to four deaths in total. Wedding remains at large and is considered a fugitive. The FBI conducted a raid at an Aventura mansion in Florida as part of the extensive investigation into the organization's activities.