FBI Arrests Ex-Olympian Over Crypto-Linked Cocaine Network

U.S. authorities have arrested Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, accusing him of leading a violent drug trafficking network that relied heavily on cryptocurrency and stablecoins to move and hide illegal money.

In an X post, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Wedding’s arrest. He was reportedly apprehended in Mexico City on Friday and is being transferred to the United States to face charges tied to cocaine trafficking, murder, and financial crimes linked to digital assets.

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Wedding had been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since early 2025, with a reward of up to $15 million offered for information leading to his capture.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Wedding led a transnational drug operation that moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California before distributing it across the United States and Canada. Authorities say the group worked alongside Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and operated across multiple jurisdictions, making it difficult to track using traditional financial systems.

Running money laundering through cryptocurrency

U.S. Treasury officials have identified cryptocurrency as a core financial tool used by Wedding’s organization. In November, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Wedding, his associates, and front companies, stating that the network used crypto and stablecoins to move and launder drug proceeds while hiding their origins.

Court documents and Treasury sanctions link the operation to multiple major blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and BNB Chain. Prosecutors also cited stablecoin use in drug transactions, including a recorded transfer of around 17,300 USDT in a cocaine exchange. Authorities have not disclosed the full scale of on-chain activity but described the operation as a multi-chain laundering network.

As part of the sanctions, Treasury officials added more than a dozen crypto wallet addresses tied to Wedding and his associates. Officials described the setup as a multi-chain laundering operation that matched the scale of the alleged drug trafficking activity.

Legal charges

Wedding is also accused of ordering violent attacks to protect his drug network. In June 2024, a superseding indictment charged him with running a continuing criminal enterprise, major drug trafficking crimes, and murder. Authorities allege he ordered killings over stolen drugs and unpaid debts in Canada and Colombia.

One major accusation is the January 2025 murder of a federal witness in the case in Colombia. According to authorities, the witness had provided information to investigators and was expected to testify against Wedding and his associates. Prosecutors say Wedding placed a bounty on the witness and ordered the killing.

When announcing Wedding’s placement on the most wanted list, Akil Davis, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said, “Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada.”

Wedding is also accused of working with senior figures in the drug trade and hiding in Mexico under cartel protection while using aliases to avoid capture. Authorities say he had been on the run for more than a decade before his arrest.

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