Additional Coverage:
Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been accused of leading a major drug trafficking operation that spanned multiple countries and involved violent crimes, including murder.
According to the US Attorney for the Central District of California, Wedding and 15 others have been indicted on 16 counts, including conspiracy to distribute and export cocaine, and leading a continuing criminal enterprise.
The indictment alleges that Wedding’s organization shipped hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and the Los Angeles area, using stash houses and couriers to transport the drugs to Canada.
To protect their operation, Wedding and his associates allegedly ordered violent crimes, including two murders in Canada and another over a drug debt.
Officials seized over a ton of cocaine, cash, cryptocurrency, and firearms during the investigation. Wedding faces up to life in prison if convicted of the murder and criminal enterprise charges, while the drug charges carry a minimum of 10 years.
Wedding, who had previously been convicted of buying cocaine, is considered a fugitive and is believed to be living in Mexico. He also faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada from 2015.