Former Olympic snowboarder, Ryan James Wedding, and 15 others are facing charges for allegedly running a massive cocaine smuggling operation from Colombia to the US and Canada, shipping 60 tonnes of cocaine a year. The US Department of Justice unveiled a 52-page indictment, with Wedding considered a fugitive and using aliases such as El Jefe and Public Enemy. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Additionally, a $5 million luxury mansion near Miami was raided, and its owner, music executive Nahim Jorge Bonilla, was arrested for allegedly receiving cocaine from Wedding. The indictment stated that Bonilla was in debt to Wedding and another co-defendant, who threatened to harm his mother if he did not repay the debt.
Wedding, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, had previously been convicted of drug charges in the US and was sentenced to prison in 2010, but authorities believe he continued trafficking drugs after his release, working for the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
Authorities seized cocaine, weapons, ammunition, cash, and cryptocurrency in connection to the investigation. Of the 16 people accused in the conspiracy, four are fugitives, while a dozen others were arrested in various locations. The criminal enterprise is also allegedly responsible for the murders of two members of an Indian family in Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.
Wedding’s co-defendant, Andrew Clark, was arrested in Mexico, known by the alias “The Dictator”. The case highlights the reach and violence associated with drug trafficking operations, with US authorities working to bring those involved to justice.
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