FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive Ryan Wedding has been taken into custody.Wedding has been accused by U.S. authorities of leading a violent international cocaine enterprise by consolidating domestic gangs across Canada to traffic and ship 60 metric tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine from Latin American cartels, while also ordering numerous murders tied to his alleged drug operation.The former Olympian, 44, had been hiding in Mexico under the protection of cartel members, according to authorities. Investigators say he used criminal connections and multiple aliases to evade capture.He was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list in early 2025, with a reward of up to $15 million offered for information leading to his arrest. US officials have been seeking him since his indictment in the summer of 2024..UPDATED: Ex-Canadian Olympian Ryan Wedding sanctioned as global fugitive drug kingpin.That fall, law enforcement leaders publicly identified Wedding as the head of a drug trafficking organization accused of moving massive quantities of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and California into Canada each year.FBI head Kash Patel said in a tweet Wedding was arrested Thursday night in Mexico City and was being transported back to the US."This is a modern day El Chapo. This is a modern day Pablo Escabar," said Patel at the morning press conference in Ontario, California."This operation is the result of tremendous cooperation and team work with the Government of Mexico. Special thanks to our amazing partners in Mexico who facilitated this — President Sheinbaum, Secretary Harfuch, Ambassador Ron Johnson, Legat Mexico, and more," he said in an earlier tweet."This is the SIXTH Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive this FBI has captured within a year — fugitives who had been on the run for almost 40 years combined. That’s no accident. President Trump is letting good cops be cops and the results speak for themselves.""This is a huge day for a safer North America, and the world, and a message that those who break our laws and harm our citizens will be brought to justice."As a nod to Wedding's snowboarding background, authories had dubbed the manhunt Operation Slalom.A total of 36 people in Wedding's organization have now been arrested.He's expected to appear in court Monday morning.Authorities say Wedding and other leaders within the group ordered dozens of killings worldwide, including the January 2025 assassination of a federal witness.At a previous news conference, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wedding was responsible for importing roughly 60 metric tons of cocaine annually into Los Angeles using semitrucks from Mexico.FBI Director Kash Patel has also compared Wedding to notorious drug lords Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.Wedding was charged in a superseding indictment in September 2024 with attempted murder and other offences related to the alleged drug enterprise.In November, a grand jury indictment was unsealed charging him in the death of a federal witness who was set to testify against him.Authorities allege Wedding placed a bounty on the witness and used a Canadian website to locate the witness and his wife before the fatal shooting at a restaurant.Officials said more details will be released at a Friday news conference in Ontario, California.
