Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder, and 15 other individuals have been charged by United States prosecutors in Los Angeles, California with running a large and violent cocaine smuggling operation out of Mexico. The indictment alleges that the group was responsible for shipping 60 tonnes of cocaine a year from Colombia to Canada and the US using long-haul semi-trucks. Wedding, who is 43 years old and originally from Canada, is currently considered a fugitive and goes by the aliases El Jefe, Giant, and Public Enemy. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and extradition.
In connection with the investigation, agents raided a $5 million luxury mansion near Miami and arrested its owner, 36-year-old music executive and restaurant owner Nahim Jorge Bonilla. Bonilla was named in the indictment and allegedly received 12 kilogrammes of cocaine from Wedding and another co-defendant, Andrew Clark, for distribution. The indictment states that Bonilla was in debt to Clark and Wedding, and the two men threatened to kill Bonilla’s mother if he did not repay what was owed. Wedding, who participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, faces charges in Canada in a separate drug case and has a previous conviction in the US for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, for which he was sentenced to prison in 2010.
US authorities believe that after Wedding’s release from prison, he resumed drug trafficking for the notorious Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. According to Martin Estrada, the US attorney in Los Angeles, Wedding made the choice to become a major drug trafficker and potentially a killer. The investigation also led to the seizure of cocaine, weapons, ammunition, cash, and more than $3 million in cryptocurrency. Matthew Allen, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Los Angeles, stated that Wedding went from navigating slopes as an Olympian snowboarder to leading a life of crime.
Of the 16 individuals accused in the drug trafficking conspiracy, four remain fugitives, while a dozen others were arrested in various locations in Florida, Michigan, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico. The criminal enterprise was allegedly responsible for the murders of two members of an Indian family in Ontario, Canada, on November 20, 2023, as retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. At least one other person was also killed by the group. Wedding’s co-defendant, Andrew Clark, who is also a Canadian citizen, was arrested by Mexican authorities on October 8 and goes by the alias “The Dictator”.
The case highlights the extent of drug trafficking operations involving significant quantities of cocaine being smuggled from Colombia to North America. The involvement of individuals with previous criminal records and established connections to cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel underscores the complexity and violence associated with such operations. The arrests and charges brought against Wedding, Clark, and the other individuals involved in the conspiracy demonstrate law enforcement’s efforts to disrupt and dismantle these criminal networks. Despite the challenges posed by fugitives and transnational criminal activities, authorities are working to hold those responsible for drug trafficking and related violent crimes accountable. The indictment and ongoing investigation serve as a reminder of the ongoing battle against drug trafficking and the need for continued cooperation between law enforcement agencies at national and international levels.
