Former Canadian Olympian and one of the US’s most wanted fugitives, Ryan Wedding, targeted in Mexican raids, luxury vehicles, ammunition, and drugs seized

Mexican security forces have launched a coordinated series of raids that investigators believe are tightening the noose around fugitive Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder now accused by US authorities of running a vast transnational drug operation.

According to CTV News, while Wedding himself remains at large, the seizures, ranging from dozens of luxury motorcycles to narcotics, ammunition and documents, are being viewed by former FBI officials as a clear signal that authorities are narrowing in on his inner circle and possible whereabouts.

“It appears to me they are closing in on him and they’re closing in on his location,” former FBI agent and federal prosecutor M. Quentin Williams said.


During the raids, authorities seized 62 luxury motorcycles and two vehicles, along with methamphetamine, marijuana, artwork, ammunition and documents. They also recovered two Olympic medals, though officials did not disclose who they belonged to, as Wedding did not medal at the 2002 Olympics.

According to a statement released by Mexico’s Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection (SSPC), the seized items are connected to a former Olympic athlete who is listed among the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives, though the individual was not named in the document.

The statement further said multiple security agencies worked jointly to develop investigative leads into a foreign national and former athlete suspected of involvement in transnational criminal activity.

The raids follow an escalation by Canadian, US and Mexican authorities in a decade-long manhunt for Wedding, which began in 2015 after the RCMP charged him with importing cocaine while he was living in Montreal, before he fled ahead of his arrest.

US authorities allege that Wedding went on to establish a major drug trafficking operation in Mexico, moving billions of dollars in narcotics and earning comparisons to Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

One of the most wanted fugitives

Earlier this year, after a key FBI witness was shot and killed, the agency added Wedding to its 10 most wanted fugitives list and announced a $15-million reward for his capture.

“Despite the fact that they didn’t capture Ryan Wedding in these raids, this is a significant step in that it shows that Mexican authorities are taking this seriously now and that they are making efforts to locate Ryan Wedding and attack his organization,” said former FBI agent and senior lecturer at the University of New Haven, Ken Gray according to CTV News website.

Authorities believe Wedding is being protected by the powerful Sinaloa cartel, with speculation that he and his associates evaded arrest in the recent raids after being tipped off in advance.

“These are just possessions of his that he had his fortune invested in,” added Gray. “It hurts him and it takes away some of his fortune, but it does not hurt his business as far as we know.”

Williams said the seized items are likely to help investigators identify Wedding’s associates, whom police may then pressure to cooperate against him.