FBI's 'Most Wanted' former Olympian arrested

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico and extradited to the US after years on the run, FBI Director Kash Patel has confirmed.

Wedding, who had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that moved tonnes of cocaine across international borders.

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The 44 year old was also wanted on murder charges. US officials had said they believed Wedding was living in Mexico under the Sinaloa drug cartel's protection.

Over two decades, Wedding went from a promising snowboarder competing in the Olympics to someone who officials have said is one of the most violent and ruthless criminals in the world, responsible for orchestrating murders and running a billion-dollar cocaine cartel.

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FBI Director Patel compared the 44-year-old — whose nicknames include “El Jefe,” “Public Enemy” and “Giant” — to Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Wedding is accused of ordering a hit on a witness in the U.S. government’s case against him and enlisting assassins to murder rival traffickers.

Court documents say that Wedding’s crime spree began in 2008, six years after his failed Olympic debut. They detail the alleged dark journey of a young man in his 20s, who got into trouble following a drug deal gone wrong, to a callous criminal on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Wedding is expected to make his first court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday.

Officials allege that he launched his criminal enterprise following his release from a US federal prison in 2011, where he was serving a sentence for cocaine distribution.

He had since been living in luxury in Mexico. In December, Mexican authorities announced that they had seized Ksh5.1 billion ($40m) in racing motorcycles owned by Wedding. They also seized other valuable items, including luxury paintings, artworks, drugs and two Olympic gold medals.

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It is unclear to whom the medals belong. Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, but did not win any medals. He came in 24th place in the men's giant parallel slalom ski event.

In November, the FBI seized his rare 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR, which had been valued at $13m (Approx Ksh1.7billion).

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