Once an Olympic snowboarder, the Thunder Bay-born athlete is now accused of leading a violent transnational drug cartel

THUNDER BAY – Crime – Ryan Wedding is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List.

On August 8, 2025, Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, announced that Wedding has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, replacing Alexis Flores.

Ryan Wedding, whose aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King,” was born in Thunder Bay, Canada, and competed in the Giant Slalom snowboarding competition during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The now 43-year-old has gone from Olympic fame to infamy as a suspected Mexican cartel drug member who has been on the run since 2015. The FBI has launched a social media campaign to seek details that could lead to the capture of this wanted man.

Wedding is suspected to be in Mexico, but authorities are not positive on that.

The FBI is also thinking it is possible Wedding has undergone cosmetic surgery to disguise his appearance.

A Past that Did Not Seem to Lead to a Life of Crime

It was not always this way. Ryan Wedding’s life once revolved around ski hills, family pride, and Olympic dreams. Born September 14, 1981, in Thunder Bay to a family deeply tied to the Mount Baldy Ski Area, Wedding’s childhood was filled with winter sports, outdoor adventures, and competitive drive.

His grandparents, Laurence and Marlyn Spiess, ran Mount Baldy as a grassroots ski hub, and his earliest years were spent on the slopes before he could read.

That drive propelled him onto Canada’s national snowboarding team at just 15. By 20, he was competing in the giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. But after a disappointing finish, Wedding’s sporting career faded — that goal for sports glory was replaced by a growing appetite for wealth, status, and high-risk ventures.

Moving to Vancouver, he gravitated toward the nightclub scene, mingled with organized crime figures, and eventually launched a large-scale cannabis grow-op.

By the mid-2000s, police suspected his network reached far beyond B.C.

From Athlete to Alleged Cartel Leader

According to U.S. and Canadian law enforcement, Wedding — now 43 — rose to become “El Jefe,” head of a violent trans-national cocaine trafficking organization linked to multiple murders.

The FBI alleges his network routinely moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, into Canada and U.S. cities.

The U.S. Department of State is offering up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction under the Narcotics Rewards Program, in addition to the FBI’s $50,000 reward.

“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets,” Davis said. “The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man.”

Murder, Trafficking, and a Multi-Nation Manhunt

A superseding federal indictment in Los Angeles alleges that between January and August 2024, Wedding and his second-in-command, fellow Canadian Andrew Clark, conspired with Ontario-based associates to move bulk cocaine shipments using long-haul semi-trucks.

U.S. Prosecutors say the group used extreme violence to enforce control, including:

• The November 20, 2023, murders of two Ontario family members in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. A third victim survived with serious injuries.

• The May 18, 2024, killing of another victim over a drug debt.

• An additional April 1, 2024, murder in Ontario involving Clark and another accused associate.

Clark was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 and extradited to the U.S., but Wedding remains at large.

FBI Investigators believe he may be in Mexico but could also be in Canada, the U.S., Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, or elsewhere.

Thunder Bay Roots to a Global Manhunt by Law Enforcement

For Thunder Bay, Wedding’s story is a startling arc from community ski slopes to international infamy.

The boy who once carried a teddy bear to national snowboard competitions now has his face posted on FBI digital billboards.

The FBI, RCMP, DEA, LAPD, and law enforcement agencies across North America, Mexico, and Colombia are pursuing the case as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation.