OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
11:53 AM – Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Ryan Wedding, the Canadian former Olympic snowboarder accused of moonlighting as a prolific drug kingpin, pleaded not guilty in a Southern California federal court on Monday to a litany of drug trafficking and murder charges.
Wedding was arrested in Mexico City, Mexico, last week, where he was taken into custody before being extradited to the United States to face federal charges in California.
The 44-year-old Canadian national, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, appeared before a judge shackled and in a jailhouse jumpsuit. Wedding spoke only to confirm his identity and acknowledge that he understood the gravity of the allegations against him.
Federal authorities say Wedding spent over a decade orchestrating a “billion-dollar” criminal organization. According to the unsealed indictment, the “Wedding Criminal Enterprise” was responsible for:
- Large-scale drug distribution: Moving 60 tons of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and into the U.S. and Canada.
- Violent retaliation: Orchestrating the murder and attempted murder of government witnesses, including a man gunned down at a restaurant before he could testify.
- Strategic logistics: Using boats and planes to smuggle cocaine across the U.S. border, with Southern California’s Inland Empire serving as a primary distribution hub.
Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel drew parallels between Wedding and notorious cartels leaders, comparing his operation to those of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Pablo Escobar. Wedding had been a fixture on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list, with the State Department previously offering a $15 million reward for his capture.
Wedding also previously served two years in U.S. federal prison for cocaine distribution before his 2011 release, and prosecutors believe he founded his namesake enterprise shortly after.
He is currently facing 17 felony counts across two federal indictments. If convicted on the top charges, Wedding faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison.
Despite the severity of the charges, Wedding’s attorney, Anthony Colombo, told reporters that his client is in “good spirits.” Colombo is a San Diego-based criminal defense attorney whose grandfather, Joe Colombo, was the longtime boss of a New York City Mafia crime family, according to Los Angeles Magazine.
Wedding was ordered held without bail pending trial, meaning he remains in federal custody while the case proceeds.
His alleged top lieutenant, Andrew Clark, was arrested last year and has also pleaded not guilty to charges involving the crime organization’s operations and the targeted killings of five individuals.
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