Former Olympic snowboarder wanted by US charged with masterminding murder of witness

A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is wanted in the US for running a multi-national drug trafficking network is also facing charges in connection with the killing of a federal witness, the US Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has announced.

Ryan Wedding is accused of orchestrating the killing of the witness in Colombia to help him avoid extradition to the US in January.

Ten other defendants have been arrested on the charges in the federal indictment, which was unsealed in California.

US authorities are now offering up to $15m for information leading to the arrest of Wedding, who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.

He is believed to be living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel.

Authorities say he is working closely with the cartel to funnel massive quantities of drugs into the US and Canada.

"Whether you are a street-level drug dealer ... or an international drug kingpin, we are coming for you," Ms Bondi said.

"We will find you and you will be accountable and held to justice for your crimes."

Wedding, whose aliases include El Jefe, Public Enemy and James Conrad King, was charged in 2024 with running a drug ring that moves some 60 tons of cocaine a year using long-haul lorries to bring the drugs between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada.

Authorities say he and his co-conspirators used a Canadian website called The Dirty News to post a photograph of the witness so he could be identified and killed.

The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medellin and shot in the head in January.

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"Wedding placed the bounty on the victim's head, and the erroneous belief that the victim's death would result in the dismissal of criminal charges against him and his international drug trafficking ring, and would further ensure that he was not extradited to the United States," said Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor for the Central District of California.

"He was wrong."

The US government is also offering rewards of up to $2m for others involved in the killing.

(c) Sky News 2025: Former Olympic snowboarder wanted by US charged with masterminding murder of witness