Ex-Olympian accused of ordering murder of witness in drug trafficking case
Federal prosecutors have announced a sweeping new set of charges against former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, accusing him of directing the murder of a witness who was preparing to testify against him in an international drug trafficking case. According to officials, Wedding, 44, is believed to be the central figure behind a massive narcotics network that has operated for more than a decade, moving staggering amounts of cocaine from Mexico into the United States and Canada. Authorities allege he worked closely with the Sinaloa Cartel and oversaw the importation of roughly six metric tons of cocaine each year into the Los Angeles area before it was shipped onward in long-haul trucks. He had already faced earlier federal charges—including running a continuing criminal enterprise, multiple drug offenses, and murder tied to that enterprise—when investigators say he escalated his efforts to evade prosecution. Prosecutors allege he placed a bounty on a cooperating witness, believing that the person’s death would derail the case and block his extradition to the United States.
The new indictment details how Wedding and 18 co-defendants—including his own attorney—allegedly coordinated the killing. Officials say the witness was fatally shot five times in the head at a Colombian restaurant in January, dying instantly. Prosecutors claim Wedding’s lawyer, 62-year-old Deepak Balwant Paradkar of Ontario, advised him that eliminating the witness would cause the charges in his 2024 federal narcotics case to collapse. Paradkar was arrested in Canada and now faces extradition to the U.S. Authorities are still searching for the shooter, as well as four additional defendants, including Wedding himself, who has been a fugitive for years and is believed to be hiding in Mexico under cartel protection. Ten defendants were arrested on Tuesday, bringing the total number in custody to 11. The U.S. government has increased its reward for information leading to Wedding’s capture to $15 million, and federal agencies have imposed financial sanctions on his alleged network, which they describe as using an elaborate system to launder profits. Once a 2002 Olympic competitor in the parallel giant slalom, Wedding is now accused of running a billion-dollar trafficking empire, with investigators comparing him to Pablo Escobar and stressing that he remains extremely dangerous as the search for him continues.
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