Ryan Wedding has been arrested after more than a decade on the run, the FBI has now confirmed.
Wedding, who once represented Canada in the Winter Olympics, is believed to have turned to a life of crime some years ago and has since been linked with a series of serious offences.
He was on the FBI's most wanted list, and last year the agency offered a $15,000,000 reward for anyone who came forward with information leading to his arrest.
Wedding is accused of 'allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and other locations in the United States', an FBI release stated.
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More specifically, in November, the authorities said he was responsible for importing 60 metric tonnes of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semi-trailer trucks from Mexico.
The last confirmed sighting of the 44-year-old is said to have been two years ago, CBC News reports, but authorities made pivotal progress in tracking Wedding down in December, when four raids were carried out at properties in Mexico.
Law enforcement seized 62 high-end motorcycles, two vehicles, methamphetamine, marijuana, artwork, ammunition, and documents as part of the raids.
Earlier today (January 23), there were reports that Wedding had been arrested, per two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation who spoke to NBC News.
This has now been confirmed by the FBI, which has released a statement.
FBI director Kash Patel said on X in a lengthy post: "Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and commitment to global law enforcement - as of this morning, the DOJ/FBI officially apprehended our SIXTH Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive within the last year. Thank you to @AGPamBondi for her relentless pursuit of justice, the US Attorney’s Office in L.A., and FBI Los Angeles."
He continued: "Ryan James Wedding was taken into custody in Mexico last night. He is being transported from Mexico to the U.S. via FBI FTOC to face justice.
"Wedding is believed to have been hiding in Mexico for over a decade - and has been wanted on charges for cocaine trafficking and murder since 2024."
Patel has previously branded Wedding as a 'modern-day Pablo Escobar'.
"Make no mistake about it, Ryan Wedding is a modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar, a modern day iteration of El Chapo Guzman," he said at a news conference last year, adding: "This justice department and this FBI will work with our Canadian counterparts and the government officials across the world to bring him to justice."
Niamh Shackleton