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2w ago

Former Olympic Snowboarder Ryan Wedding Pleads Not Guilty in Santa Ana to U.S. Drug and Murder Charges

Prosecutors allege he led a billion-dollar cocaine enterprise linked to multiple killings.

This still photo taken from video and provided by the FBI shows Ryan Wedding a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder facing charges related to drug trafficking and the killing of a federal witness is taken off a plane at Ontario International Airport in Ontario, Calif. on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 19: A reward poster for the arrest of Ryan James Wedding is visible following a news conference announcing the indictment of a former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, charging him with murder and money laundering in connection to a drug trafficking organization at the Justice Department on November 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Justice Department announced a fifteen-million-dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of Ryan James Wedding, the leader of a criminal drug organization who smuggled large quantities of cocaine through Colombia and Mexico for distribution in the United States and Canada. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Wedding appeared in federal court in Santa Ana on Monday and was ordered held without bail pending trial.
  • He faces indictments alleging a continuing criminal enterprise, large-scale cocaine trafficking, and murder counts, including an alleged 2025 witness killing in Medellín and 2023 retaliatory slayings in Canada.
  • U.S. authorities say his organization moved up to 60 tons of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico into Southern California before distribution to Canada and other U.S. markets under Sinaloa Cartel protection.
  • The former Olympian was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in 2025, with a $15 million reward offered, after more than a decade as a fugitive.
  • A multinational investigation has produced 36 related arrests, 19 U.S. Treasury sanctions, and high-value seizures including a rare $13 million 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster and motorcycles valued at about $40 million.