The FBI increased to $10 million a reward for the capture of a Canadian who is the alleged leader of a Mexican cartel.
The FBI also added Ryan Wedding, who also goes by the names Giant, Public Enemy and El Jefe to the Top 10 Most Wanted list.
The RCMP and FBI worked together for over a year to target a Mexican Cartel-linked criminal network.
This network has been moving large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine from Central and South America via the United States to Canada and overseas.
It also has been commissioning murders across North America, and laundering significant proceeds of crime.
“Ryan Wedding continues to pose one of the largest organized crime threats to Canada, even as a fugitive,” said Liam Price, director general of International Special Services. “We will continue to work with our U.S. and Mexico counterparts in the search for Wedding.”
“Never has it been more important than now to ensure our continued collaboration with our international partners to tackle the threats we face and prevent transnational crime from hurting everyday Canadians and our allies,” Price said.
Wedding was born in Thunder Bay and competed in the giant slalom snowboarding competition during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,” Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office said in a news release. “The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man, and his addition to the list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, coupled with a major reward offer by the State Department, will make the public our partner so that we can catch up with him before he puts anyone else in danger.”
The 43-year-old Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder, was charged in an original indictment with running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder, and conspiring to possess, distribute, and export cocaine.
RCMP Federal Policing worked closely with the FBI during the investigation and acted as a link to Canadian law enforcement, including Niagara Regional Police, Ontario Provincial Police, Toronto Police Service, Surete du Quebec, and Peel Regional Police.
“The RCMP is serious about going after the leaders of these drug trafficking organizations,” said Chief Superintendent Mathieu Bertrand, director general of Serious and Organized Crime and Border Integrity.
“Through collaborative efforts with the FBI, we have disrupted a major organized crime group. We will continue to work with the FBI, as well as our Canadian police partner agencies, to work towards ensuring the safety and security of our communities and citizens.”
Wedding, who uses the aliases James Conrad King and Jesse King, is six foot three, 240 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.
Any member of the public with information on the whereabouts of Ryan Wedding is asked to contact the FBI by phone (voice, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, or text) at +1-424 495-0614, the nearest U.S., Canadian, or Mexican Embassy or Consulate, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
