When the FBI places someone on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the criminal world pays attention. When that someone is Ryan James Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, the entire world pays attention.

Wedding — once a medal-chasing athlete — is now accused of drug trafficking, laundering millions for cartel networks, and ordering the execution of a federal witness in Colombia. With a staggering $15 million reward on his head, he has become one of the most hunted men on the planet.

This is far more than a celebrity-gone-bad story. This is a murder case with cartel undertones, international jurisdiction fights, and a witness killing that has shaken federal enforcement to its core.

Below is the full breakdown — timeline, evidence, fact vs. rumor, and the human fallout.

TIMELINE OF THE CRIME & INVESTIGATION

2016–2022: Rise and Fall

Wedding transitions from Olympic sports to what prosecutors describe as “rapid financial expansion with no legitimate source.” Investigators say this period was the early stage of his trafficking and laundering operations.

2023: DEA Flags Suspicious Activity

U.S. agencies reportedly begin tracking Wedding’s communications with intermediaries connected to the Sinaloa cartel, including encrypted messages and unexplained international transfers.

March 2024: First Criminal Informant Comes Forward

A federal witness in Colombia begins cooperating with U.S. authorities regarding Wedding’s alleged drug pipeline. Prosecutors say Wedding learned of the cooperation through a compromised intermediary.

July 2024: The Witness Is Killed

The informant is murdered execution-style in Medellín. Colombian authorities immediately classify it as a cartel-related hit.
U.S. prosecutors accuse Wedding of ordering the assassination to stop testimony.

2024–2025: International Investigation Expands

Multiple countries — including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Colombia — open parallel investigations into Wedding’s operation.

November 2025: The Bombshell

The FBI indicts Wedding for:

• Murder of a federal witness
• Large-scale drug trafficking
• Money laundering
• Conspiracy with cartel actors

Wedding is added to the Ten Most Wanted list, and the FBI drops the unprecedented $15,000,000 reward.

WHAT EVIDENCE PROSECUTORS SAY THEY HAVE

1. Financial Trails

• Millions moved through shell companies and cryptocurrency exchanges.
• “Suspicious activity reports” tie Wedding to cartel money washing.

2. Communications

• Encrypted messages retrieved from seized devices allegedly show Wedding discussing “removal of obstacles,” which prosecutors say refers to the federal witness.

3. Witness Testimony

• Several traffickers arrested in Mexico and Arizona have allegedly linked Wedding directly to shipments of narcotics.

4. Surveillance & Travel

• Travel records place Wedding in Colombia and Mexico at critical times.
• Video footage reportedly shows him meeting with cartel intermediaries.

5. Motive

• The murdered witness was prepared to testify in a U.S. federal drug case implicating Wedding.

FACT VS. RUMOR VS. SPECULATION

FACT

• Wedding is officially charged with murder, trafficking, and laundering.
• He is tied to the Sinaloa cartel through multiple cooperating witnesses.
• The FBI reward is confirmed at $15 million — one of the largest ever.
• The witness he is accused of killing was part of a federal investigation.

RUMOR

• That Wedding was secretly working as a DEA informant.
  No agency has confirmed this, and available evidence contradicts it.
• That Wedding faked his own death in Mexico.
  The rumor began on social media; the FBI has publicly dismissed it.

SPECULATION

• That the FBI fears Wedding has protection from cartel command structures.
• That U.S. agencies are preparing additional RICO-level indictments against others connected to him.
• That the witness killing will spark new congressional hearings on witness-protection failures.

THE HUMAN IMPACT

This case isn’t just about cartel money or an athlete’s downfall.

A federal witness is dead, leaving behind a family still living in fear.
Agents working the case now operate under heightened security protocols, as killing a federal witness is one of the most explosive red flags in organized crime.

Communities in Arizona, British Columbia, and parts of Colombia have seen expanded federal presence as investigators follow the money trail and hunt for Wedding, who may still be receiving cartel assistance.

For athletes and fans, this has also been a psychological shock: how does an Olympian with a global platform go from world-class sports to international fugitive?

And for the justice system, one question towers above the rest:

If cartel-connected assassinations can silence witnesses abroad, what does that mean for every criminal case moving forward?

YOUR TURN — WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Does this case mark a new era of cartel-influenced crime reaching into celebrity circles?
Should the U.S. be worried about witness safety after this assassination?

Share your thoughts below — RealCrimeNetwork wants to hear from you.

---

Affiliate Disclosure:
Some links in my articles may bring me a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support of my work here!