Ex-Olympic Snowboarder Wanted by F.B.I.

Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding was just accused of leading a violent international drug ring.

The FBI says that Wedding orchestrated the shipment of tons of cocaine from Columbia and Mexico to the USA and Canada, along with the ordering of multiple killings. It’s been also said that Wedding is in Mexico, a federal warrant was issued for him one month ago in the US Central District Court in LA.

A grand jury indictment was filed in June charging Wedding with numerous counts of felonies, He currently is the lead defendant in a superseding indictment that was unsealed this week that named 16 people.

    “They have triggered an avalanche of violent crimes, including brutal murders… Wedding, the Olympian snowboarder, went from navigating slopes to contouring a life of incessant crimes.” Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles division, said in a statement.

     Authorities say that the drug conspiracy operated at a large scale, from Columbia, Mexico, to three California counties, that being LA, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Agents were able to monitor the actions of the group earlier this year due to a mole who relayed coded messages about the alleged drug shipments.

  As a part of a federal investigation – dubbed Operation Giant Slalom, echoing at an Olympic event Wedding once competed in, Law enforcement caught the defendants with a total of 1.8 metric tons of cocaine along with some weapons as well.

 It was estimated to be around $255,450 in cash and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency.

If Wedding is convicted “would face a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison on the murder and attempted murder charges,” according to the Justice Department.

This is the second time that the US authorities have leveled serious drug charges against Wedding, as he was previously convicted in 2009 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine where he served a year in prison. He’s also been investigated by the Canadian authorities with prior drug investigations.

Photo credit: Adam Pretty/Getty Images