### Former Olympic Snowboarder Ryan Wedding Wanted by FBI for Murder and Drug Trafficking

Ryan Wedding, a former athlete who represented Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics, is now a fugitive wanted by the FBI. The 43-year-old, with a history in snowboarding, faces severe criminal charges, prompting a nationwide manhunt. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for any information that could lead to his capture, arrest, and extradition.

Wedding is accused of being deeply involved in a vast transnational drug trafficking network. A federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court in the Central District of California, where Wedding faces a litany of charges. These include two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to export cocaine, leading a continuing criminal enterprise, three counts of murder related to this criminal enterprise and drug crimes, and one count of attempted murder in the same context.

A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, reveals that Wedding is not alone in these allegations. He is one of 16 defendants indicted for allegedly managing a significant cocaine smuggling ring. This operation reportedly moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, into Canada and various parts of the United States. The activities of this drug ring are said to have been lethal, with leaders, including Wedding and his co-defendant Andrew Clark, orchestrating multiple murders tied to these crimes. Clark and Wedding specifically face charges of murder linked to an unsettled drug debt.

Wedding is considered the primary defendant in this superseding indictment. His fall from Olympic athlete to fugitive highlights a dramatic and shocking transformation, underscoring the severity of the allegations against him. The international reach and violent nature of the crimes attributed to this drug trafficking ring have raised critical concerns about transnational drug operations and their impacts on public safety.

The FBI's effort to locate and apprehend Wedding continues, as they urge the public to come forward with any information that might assist in bringing the former Olympian to justice.