Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Velding has been included in the FBI’s list of the ten most wanted criminals
8 march 2025 в 00:37
Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding has been added to the FBI’s list of the ten most wanted criminals.
On Thursday, March 6, the FBI office in Los Angeles announced that 43-year-old Wedding had been added to the list, calling him a «very dangerous individual». He was charged last year in federal court in Los Angeles with multiple counts, including running a criminal organization, committing murder in connection with that organization, and various drug crimes, the FBI reported.
Learn more about his past and the charges against him below.
Wedding was born in Thunder Bay, Canada, and is primarily known for his career as an Olympic snowboarder. He represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he competed in snowboard giant slalom events.
Wedding, whose aliases include «El Jefe», - «Giant», - «Public Enemy», - «James Conrad King», - and «Jesse King», - is wanted for «alleged management of a transnational drug trafficking network that regularly shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to Canada and other locations in the United States, as well as for organizing several murders and attempted murders in connection with these drug crimes», - according to the FBI.
«Wedding went from snowboarding at the Olympics to distributing cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada», - said Akil Davis, deputy director of the FBI office in Los Angeles, in a press statement.
The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of $ 10 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction, while the FBI is offering a reward of $ 50,000 for information leading to his apprehension, arrest, and extradition.
Although Wedding’s whereabouts are unknown, it is believed that he may be in Mexico. However, investigators do not rule out the possibility of him being in other areas, including the U.S., Canada, Honduras, Guatemala, or Costa Rica.
Wedding’s alleged deputy, also Canadian Andrew Clark, was arrested in Mexico last year by Mexican authorities. Clark was among 29 fugitives extradited to the U.S. from Mexico in late February 2025
On Thursday, March 6, the FBI office in Los Angeles announced that 43-year-old Wedding had been added to the list, calling him a «very dangerous individual». He was charged last year in federal court in Los Angeles with multiple counts, including running a criminal organization, committing murder in connection with that organization, and various drug crimes, the FBI reported.
Learn more about his past and the charges against him below.
Wedding was born in Thunder Bay, Canada, and is primarily known for his career as an Olympic snowboarder. He represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he competed in snowboard giant slalom events.
Wedding, whose aliases include «El Jefe», - «Giant», - «Public Enemy», - «James Conrad King», - and «Jesse King», - is wanted for «alleged management of a transnational drug trafficking network that regularly shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to Canada and other locations in the United States, as well as for organizing several murders and attempted murders in connection with these drug crimes», - according to the FBI.
«Wedding went from snowboarding at the Olympics to distributing cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada», - said Akil Davis, deputy director of the FBI office in Los Angeles, in a press statement.
The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of $ 10 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction, while the FBI is offering a reward of $ 50,000 for information leading to his apprehension, arrest, and extradition.
Although Wedding’s whereabouts are unknown, it is believed that he may be in Mexico. However, investigators do not rule out the possibility of him being in other areas, including the U.S., Canada, Honduras, Guatemala, or Costa Rica.
Wedding’s alleged deputy, also Canadian Andrew Clark, was arrested in Mexico last year by Mexican authorities. Clark was among 29 fugitives extradited to the U.S. from Mexico in late February 2025
© Artemenko Olga
