Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, Ryan Wedding is now on the United States’ list of most wanted fugitives.
Dozens of luxury motorcycles, lined up in hangars in Mexico, have been seized in recent weeks by local authorities as part of an investigation targeting Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder now wanted by American justice. According to the FBI, which released images of this seizure on Monday, the collection would be estimated at around 40 million dollars (around 37.5 million euros, Editor’s note) and would be linked to the 44-year-old fugitive, suspected of now being at the head of a vast international drug trafficking network, reports CBS News.
FBI Los Angeles/X
The motorcycles were discovered during searches of several properties located in Mexico City and the capital region. According to Mexican authorities, 62 racing or high-end motorcycles were recovered, as well as two vehicles, works of art, narcotics and various personal items. Among them would also be two Olympic medals. The photographs published by the FBI notably show numerous sports-type motorcycles, including several Ducatis with colors close to those used in competition.
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Protected by the Sinaloa Cartel
This operation is the result of cooperation between the FBI, the Los Angeles police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Mexican authorities. Ryan Wedding, who is currently hiding in Mexico according to Washington, is on the list of ten most wanted fugitives by the FBI, which considers him armed and dangerous, and has already been compared to other notorious drug traffickers such as Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Pablo Escobar. A reward of up to $15 million is promised for information leading to his arrest and conviction. According to American authorities, Ryan Wedding is protected by the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico, relays ABC News.
A former member of the Canadian snowboard team at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Ryan Wedding was previously convicted in 2009 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. After his release from prison in 2010, US federal prosecutors accused him of building a criminal organization moving hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and the United States. He is also being prosecuted for having ordered several assassinations. Prosecutors also accuse him of having ordered the assassination of a key witness in the federal proceedings against him: the man was shot several times in the head last January, while he was in a restaurant in Colombia.
