FBI offers $10M US reward for Canadian ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding, now among 10 most wanted

Thomas Daigle · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 1:49 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Canadian alleged cause kingpin Ryan Wedding has been added to the FBI's database of 10 most-wanted fugitives, arsenic the reward offered for accusation starring to his apprehension has been accrued to $10 cardinal US.

The FBI and U.S. State Department made the announcements astatine a quality league successful Los Angeles connected Thursday, raising the stakes successful a manhunt archetypal launched by the RCMP successful 2015.

Wedding, who competed for Canada arsenic a snowboarder astatine the 2002 Olympic Games successful Utah, faces U.S. national charges related to 3 murders, a cocaine trafficking conspiracy and for "leading a continuing transgression enterprise."

A elder RCMP authoritative told CBC News "it's a harmless assumption" that Wedding and his accomplices are linked to much killings crossed North America.

The L.A. Police Department said Wedding's alleged web utilized the metropolis arsenic its superior transport hub to determination immense quantities of drugs, including truckloads of cocaine and "five metric tonnes of fentanyl per month" to U.S. and Canadian cities. 

"The summation successful the reward should marque it clear: determination is obscurity harmless for Wedding to hide," LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters.

The FBI besides released a caller photograph of Wedding, 43, successful a bluish shot headdress and displaying salient tattoos and a golden ticker connected 1 arm. The FBI declined to accidental wherever the representation was taken, but said Wedding is believed to beryllium surviving successful Mexico, nether the extortion of the notorious Sinaloa cartel.

"Wedding, who is wealthy, is unsafe and has connections successful precise precocious places," said Akil Davis, adjunct manager successful complaint of the FBI's Los Angeles tract office.

Davis described Wedding's alleged transgression ringing "one of the astir blase cause trafficking networks successful North America."

WATCH | Wedding believed to beryllium successful Mexico, FBI says:

Wedding and 15 alleged accomplices, including his "second-in-command," chap Canadian Andrew Clark, were indicted successful a national expansive assemblage indictment unsealed successful Los Angeles past October. The RCMP laid charges against Wedding arsenic portion of a cocaine importation conspiracy successful 2015. He's been connected the tally ever since.

CBC News reported this week that tribunal documents suggest Wedding is inactive trafficking drugs portion successful hiding.

The FBI was antecedently offering a reward of up to $50,000 US for accusation starring to Wedding's arrest. The caller magnitude of up to $10 cardinal US, authorized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "is offered successful co-ordination with the governments of Canada and Mexico successful a unified effort to bring Wedding to justice," the State Department said successful a statement. 

Liam Price, the RCMP's caput of planetary peculiar services, told CBC the full magnitude comes from the U.S. authorities and that Canada is not contributing to the reward. 

The Mounties said successful a abstracted statement, "Law enforcement progressive successful this probe is alert of past and existent attempts to intimidate/threaten witnesses by the Wedding enactment and affiliates." In an interview, Price declined to picture the threats, but said "this enactment does airs a hazard to nationalist safety."

The FBI's cardinal witnesser successful the Wedding lawsuit — reportedly Canadian Colombian cause trafficker Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia — was killed successful Medellín, Colombia, successful January.

According to the prosecutors, Wedding and Clark utilized deed men to termination underworld enemies. Their alleged victims see an Indian couple, changeable successful a rented location successful Caledon, Ont., in November 2023, arsenic they visited their big children. Their girl was changeable 13 times but survived.

According to authorities, the household was mistakenly targeted successful a quality implicit a stolen cocaine shipment.

Mexican authorities transferred Clark — Wedding's alleged apical lieutenant — to U.S. custody past week arsenic portion of a large extradition cognition targeting cartel-linked figures. Clark, 34, was captured past October successful a melodramatic cognition involving the Mexican navy astatine a edifice successful the Guadalajara area.

Acting U.S. lawyer Joseph T. McNally revealed Clark was fto retired connected bail successful Mexico "in caller weeks … somewhat inexplicably." McNally did not disclose however Clark was recaptured afterward.

In all, 10 Canadians person been charged successful the sprawling case. Four of Wedding's co-defendants — including alleged deed antheral Malik Cunningham — remain successful custody successful Ontario and look extradition to the U.S. Several different co-defendants are scheduled to basal proceedings successful L.A. successful May.

CBC News has reported extensively connected the lawsuit since past fall, erstwhile the sweeping U.S. indictment was unsealed. Previous developments include:

• While successful situation successful 2011, Wedding joined a B.C. businesswoman who was aboriginal named successful 2 investigations involving wealth laundering. At the time, Wedding appeared to beryllium forging ties that enactment him astatine the crossroads of Mexican cartels and Iranian-linked transgression networks.

• Another Canadian co-defendant was arrested successful a pre-dawn raid connected his Florida mansion, erstwhile owned by euphony prima DJ Khaled. Nahim Jorge Bonilla is accused of shipping meth to Quebec to settee a cause indebtedness with Wedding.