Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder now accused of running a multinational drug-trafficking ring and orchestrating the killing of a federal witness, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Santa Ana during a brief hearing on Monday, Jan. 26, days after his headline-grabbing capture.
His attorney didn’t challenge the government’s request to keep him in custody before trial.
On Friday, Jan. 23, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the capture of Wedding, 44, during a news conference on the tarmac at Ontario International Airport. Wedding, Patel said, was taken into custody after a year-plus manhunt with U.S. investigators working with authorities in Mexico, Canada, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
Wedding was on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives list. Patel referred to him as the modern-day Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman or Pablo Escobar. Wedding was believed to have been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade, after previously being convicted in the United States for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. In 2024, federal prosecutors charged Wedding with running a drug ring.
Under the suspected protection of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful drug rings, Wedding is accused of using semitrucks to move cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada — and orchestrating several killings. Authorities say he used aliases including “El Jefe,” “Public Enemy” and “James Conrad Kin.”
Federal authorities have declined to release details about the apprehension of Wedding, who was apparently taken into custody Thursday night in Mexico City, and then taken to the United States. There was a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest or capture.
In November, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced an indictment alleging that Wedding had overseen the killing of a witness in Colombia to avoid being extradited to the United States. Wedding and co-conspirators posted a photograph of the witness on a Canadian website called The Dirty News, authorities alleged. The witness was shot in the head at a restaurant in Medellin last year.
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Federal authorities say three dozen other people have been arrested in connection to Wedding’s drug ring. The investigation has led to the seizure of large volumes of drugs, weapons and cash as well as millions of dollars in cars, motorcycles, artwork and jewelry that allegedly belonged to Wedding and others.
Wedding also faces separate drug-trafficking charges in Canada dating back to 2015.
In 2002, Wedding competed for his home country in the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in a men’s snowboarding event, parallel giant slalom. He finished 24th.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.