The United States announced Wednesday that it is raising the reward for information leading to the capture of Canadian Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder accused of smuggling drugs from Mexico, from $10 million to $15 million.
In addition, the Donald Trump Administration imposed financial sanctions against the Canadian, along with nine individuals and nine related companies.
Ryan Wedding Reward Increases
Ryan Wedding, who is on the FBI’s list of the ten most wanted fugitives, represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (Utah, United States).
According to the State Department, after his sports career he turned to drug trafficking and his last known base of operations is Mexico.
Canadian police on Tuesday arrested at least seven individuals with ties to Wedding, including a well-known lawyer, Deepak Paradkar, identified on social media as @cocaine_lawyer, who allegedly advised the former Olympian to murder an FBI witness in Colombia.
Another of those arrested is Atna Onha, 40, who appeared in court in Montreal on Tuesday and whose extradition has been requested by the FBI.
Although the details of Onha’s case are sealed, Canadian public broadcaster CBC indicated that his arrest is linked to murder and cocaine trafficking.
“(Wedding) controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world. He is currently the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at a press conference.
Ryan Wedding works closely with the Sinaloa Cartel and is responsible for trafficking some 60 tons of Colombian cocaine into Los Angeles each year, using trucks from Mexico, Bondi added.
He is charged in the United States with the crimes of running a criminal enterprise, murder and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
The prosecutor announced new charges against the Canadian for witness intimidation and murder, after a federal witness in the case was killed in 2024 in Medellín.
This new bounty is announced as U.S. President Donald Trump uses tariffs to pressure his neighbors Mexico and Canada to curb fentanyl trafficking into U.S. territory.
