Ex-Olympic Snowboarder Enters Not Guilty Plea to Murder, Drug Charges

A former Canadian Olympian is now at the center of what authorities call one of the most expansive and violent international drug trafficking operations in recent history.

Ryan Wedding, who competed for Canada in snowboarding at the 2002 Winter Olympics, pleaded not guilty on Monday to a staggering list of federal charges, including drug trafficking, murder, and running a criminal enterprise. The disgraced athlete is accused of trafficking over 60 tons of cocaine across four countries, operating a billion-dollar cartel-linked pipeline that U.S. officials say rivals the likes of El Chapo and Pablo Escobar.

“Just to tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is,” said FBI Director Kash Patel, “he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco-trafficker in modern times. He’s a modern-day Pablo Escobar.”

Wedding, who had been in hiding in Mexico for more than a decade, was arrested last week and extradited to the United States. In 2025, he was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, with a $15 million reward offered for information leading to his arrest.

Wedding’s indictment paints a picture of a calculated, globe-spanning criminal operation:

• Coordinating with the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s most violent criminal groups.

• Moving cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to California, then into Canada and across the U.S.

• Using semi trucks, boats, and planes to smuggle drugs storing them in Southern California before further distribution.

• Ordering multiple assassinations, including:

  • Two members of a Canadian family in 2023, allegedly as retribution for a stolen shipment.

  • A cartel-linked killing in 2024 over a drug debt.

  • The 2025 murder of a witness in Colombia, which prosecutors claim was carried out to prevent Wedding’s extradition.

Wedding faces additional charges in Canada related to prior drug crimes dating back to 2015. If convicted in the United States, he could face multiple life sentences.

In a twist almost too surreal to be fiction, Wedding’s criminal empire allegedly began taking shape not long after his stint in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where he placed 24th in the men’s parallel giant slalom. A mediocre finish turned into a meteoric fall.

Now, he’s the face of one of the most shocking transformations in modern crime from snowboarder to cartel kingpin.

Wedding’s defense attorney, Anthony Colombo, disputed reports that Wedding turned himself in voluntarily at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, claiming instead that he was arrested and extradited. Colombo described his client as “in good spirits” but acknowledged that the legal process ahead is overwhelming.

“This is a serious case with serious charges, and Mr. Wedding is preparing to fight them,” Colombo said.

Wedding is expected back in court on February 11, with trial proceedings scheduled for March 24.

While the media focuses on the celebrity connection, the deeper truth is clear: the lines between sports, celebrity, and organized crime are thinner than most realize. And when law enforcement stands down or is defunded, as some demand these cartels don’t disappear, they evolve.

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