The FBI has released a new photo of Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned notorious global drug kingpin, in their ongoing efforts to locate him. The photo shows Wedding shirtless with a distinctive chest tattoo of a lion. This selfie was believed to have been taken in Mexico this summer.
Wedding, 44, now has a bounty of $15 million on his head, making him the highest bounty of any of the FBI’s 10 most-wanted list. The US Embassy in Mexico also released an older photograph of Wedding, showing him in a green t-shirt with a shaven head.
According to the FBI, Wedding is wanted for allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking operation that shipped large quantities of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States. He is also accused of orchestrating multiple murders in connection with these drug crimes.
Wedding is believed to be hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel. FBI Director Kash Patel has described him as the “modern-day iteration” of infamous drug lords like Pablo Escobar and El Chapo.
Despite Wedding’s Olympic background as a snowboarder in the 2002 Winter Olympics, he has since become a major player in the drug trade. The FBI warns that he may have drastically altered his appearance, including changing his hair color or undergoing plastic surgery, to evade capture.
Authorities are urging anyone with information on Wedding’s whereabouts to come forward. Wedding’s criminal activities and alleged involvement in multiple murders make him a top priority for law enforcement agencies.
