Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico after years on the run and will be extradited to the United States, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Friday.
Wedding, 44, had been listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives roster and is accused of leading a massive transnational drug trafficking operation responsible for moving tons of cocaine across international borders. U.S. authorities have also linked him to multiple murder allegations.
Officials previously said they believed Wedding was living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel. His arrest followed a joint international effort involving U.S., Canadian, and Mexican law enforcement agencies.
FBI DIRECTOR PATEL announces capture of former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive Ryan Wedding in Mexico City: "Just to tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narcotrafficker in modern times."… pic.twitter.com/IsMkbMQMHn
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 23, 2026
Speaking alongside Patel, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme praised the cooperation between countries, emphasizing the importance of international partnerships in combating organized crime.
“No single agency or nation can fight transnational organized crime alone,” Duheme said. “With Ryan Wedding’s arrest, our communities and our countries are safer.”
Wedding is expected to make his first court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday.
According to investigators, Wedding ran a sprawling criminal enterprise that imported an estimated 60 metric tons of cocaine annually. The organization operated throughout North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and was allegedly the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, generating roughly $1 billion per year.
Authorities say Wedding ordered multiple killings, including the murder of a federal witness in a case against him. He is now facing numerous felony charges, including murder, witness tampering and intimidation, money laundering, and drug trafficking.
The FBI had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture. Patel declined to say whether the reward would be claimed.
Details surrounding the arrest remain limited, but officials confirmed it took place Thursday night in Mexico City. Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harfuch, said Patel was in the city that day and left with two fugitives from the FBI’s most-wanted list. One of them, a Canadian citizen, reportedly surrendered voluntarily at the U.S. Embassy.
The Associated Press, citing a Mexican security official, identified Wedding as the individual who turned himself in.
At a news conference, Patel described Wedding as a “modern-day Pablo Escobar,” comparing him to both the infamous Colombian cartel leader and Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Patel credited Canadian and Mexican authorities, as well as the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, for their role in the operation.
“This was a complex, high-stakes mission with no room for error,” Patel said, adding that he was on the ground during the operation in Mexico.
Authorities say Wedding used multiple aliases, including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” and allegedly underwent plastic surgery to alter his appearance. Investigators believe he launched his criminal empire after being released from a U.S. federal prison in 2011, where he served time for cocaine distribution.
Mexican authorities have seized millions of dollars in assets tied to Wedding, including luxury vehicles, artwork, drugs, and high-end motorcycles. Despite competing for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics, Wedding did not win any medals.
U.S. officials also announced the arrest of another FBI most-wanted fugitive in Mexico, Alejandro Castillo, who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and will be extradited to North Carolina to face trial.