Former Canadian Olympian Ryan Wedding arrested after surrender at US embassy in Mexico

Ryan Wedding, 44, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who US authorities describe as an alleged drug kingpin, surrendered at the US embassy in Mexico City and has been arrested, law enforcement officials announced on Friday. He was flown from Mexico to California and is in US custody.

Wedding had been sought by the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a probe called Operation Giant Slalom, which the agencies have run since 2023. US officials say he is charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy to murder, witness tampering and money laundering. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, described the organisation he oversaw as "one of the most prolific and violent drug‑trafficking organizations" in the world, and Wedding was added to the FBI's Most Wanted list in March 2025.

US authorities allege Wedding's organisation moved nearly 60 metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles using semitrucks and that he ordered the killing of a key FBI witness and other murders, including a couple killed in a case of mistaken identity. At an airfield in California the FBI director, Kash Patel, called Wedding the "largest narco‑trafficker in modern times" and said: "He thought he could evade justice … here we are today, bringing him to justice." Mexico's security minister, Omar García Harfuch, said Wedding "surrendered voluntarily" at the embassy.

Key Topics

World, Ryan Wedding, Us Embassy, Fbi, Rcmp, Operation Giant Slalom