A former Olympic snowboarder accused of running an international drug smuggling network behind four murders has been added to the FBI’s list of 10 most wanted fugitives.
A $10m (£7.7m) reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of Ryan Wedding, 43, who competed for Canada in the giant slalom at the 2002 winter games.
Wedding – whose aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy”- is accused of running a network that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other US locations.
He is also suspected of orchestrating four murders and an attempted murder.
“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of US cities and in his native Canada,” said Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
“The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man.”
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Wedding was charged last year and an indictment in September alleged he and others arranged the shipment of some 60 tonnes of cocaine a year using long-haul trucks.
The FBI said a dozen people had been arrested in connection with the case.
US authorities allege the group killed two members of a family in Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment in what officials there said was a case of mistaken identity, as well as two other people.
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“The former Canadian snowboarder unleashed an avalanche of death and destruction, here and abroad,” said special agent Matthew Allen.
“He earned the name ‘El Jefe’, becoming boss of a violent transnational drug trafficking organisation.
“Now, his face will be on ‘The Top 10 Most Wanted’ posters. He’s unremitting, callous and greed-driven.
“Today’s announcement beams an even brighter searchlight on him. We ask that you help us find him.”
Investigators believe Wedding is living in Mexico but have not ruled out that he could be in the US, Canada, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, or elsewhere.
