Remarkable new video has surfaced, showing former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding arriving in the United States in handcuffs after his recent arrest. Once a celebrated athlete, Wedding has now become infamous as an alleged drug kingpin.

Wedding proudly represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics. However, he later landed on the FBI’s list of the ten most-wanted fugitives. After more than ten years on the run, he ultimately turned himself in to authorities.

The 44-year-old is facing serious charges of leading a drug-smuggling network worth billions and is suspected of orchestrating multiple murders. His alleged criminal activities have earned him comparisons to the notorious Pablo Escobar, with some dubbing him a ‘modern-day iteration’ of the infamous drug lord. Reports suggest Wedding had been residing in Mexico, under the protection of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.

Last Friday, a plane carrying Wedding arrived in Ontario, California. As he disembarked, the towering figure of the former Olympian, clad in jeans and a black cap, was escorted by FBI agents. Following closely was FBI director Kash Patel, highlighting the significance of this high-profile arrest.

On Friday, a plane carrying Wedding was seen touching down in Ontario, California. 

The former Olympian, who wore jeans and a black cap, towered above FBI agents as they escorted down on to the runway in handcuffs. He was followed by FBI director Kash Patel.

Stunning new footage has emerged of Ryan Wedding arriving in the US in handcuffs

Wedding represented Canada during the Winter Olympics in 2002 but he did not win a medal

A previous wanted poster for Wedding, with the FBI offering up to $10million for information

Authorities across the US, Canada and Mexico had been hunting Wedding, with the FBI offering a reward of $15milion for information leading to his arrest. 

But he is said to have turned himself in to the US embassy in Mexico City. Mexico’s security secretary Omar García Harfuch wrote on social media that Patel held meetings in Mexico on Thursday and left the following day with two detainees. 

One of those in custody was a Canadian citizen who turned himself in. The Associated Press reported that was Wedding. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi claims that the 44-year-old Canadian had been wanted over an alleged transnational drug ring that is responsible for bringing around 60 metric tons of cocaine into Southern California annually.

Wedding was allegedly under the protection Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel for the better part of the last decade and was compared by Patel to that group’s imprisoned former leader, Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán. 

He was previously convicted in the United States on cocaine distribution charges and later served three and a half years years of a four-year prison sentence.

In 2024, he was hit with eight felony charges, including three counts of murder, and last November, a grand jury indictment against Wedding was unsealed.

He was charged with the death of a federal witness who was supposed to testify against the former snowboarder.

On Friday, law enforcement officials revealed Wedding had been arrested and put in custody

The 44-year-old is accused of leading a billion-dollar drug-smuggling operation 

NBC was the first to report the arrest, which took place in Mexico City on Thursday night. Wedding will stand before a judge on Monday, FBI Los Angeles Field Office assistant director Akil Davis told reporters Friday.

Shortly after Wedding was apprehended, Patel described the 44-year-old as ‘a modern-day El Chapo’ and claimed ‘he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco trafficker in modern times.’ 

The FBI director continued: ‘It goes without saying to go down to Mexico to find a guy who’s been on the lam for multiple years for some of the most egregious crimes on planet Earth, takes an inter agency-wide effort led out by President [Donald] Trump, our DOJ and our partners in Mexico, and [we are] very grateful for that partnership.’

This marks the sixth member of the FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted’ list who has been arrested this year, according to Patel. 

The FBI Director also thanked Mexico for its cooperation in taking down Wedding, as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). US Ambassador to Mexico, Ronald D. Johnson, was credited with ‘quarterbacking’ this case over the last year. 

Bondi, meanwhile, thanked Patel online for his contributions to the arrest: ‘Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice. We are grateful to our incredible Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for assisting us in this case.’

Law enforcement agencies across the US, Mexico, Canada, the Dominican Republic and Colombia have worked together to arrest 36 individuals allegedly connected to Wedding, while the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 19 people, including the former Olympian. 

A month ago, the FBI released never-before-seen photos of a $40million seizure of vehicles believed to be owned by Wedding. Among the items seized were 62 motorbikes, as well as a rare, $13m 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster.

FBI agents also found two other vehicles, two Olympic medals, methamphetamine, marijuana, works of art, and ammunition. It is not clear who the medals belong to, given Wedding finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom at his sole Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. 

Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI LA Field Office, speaks while standing next to FBI Director Kash Patel, during an announcement of the apprehension of Ryan Wedding

Shortly after Wedding was caught, Patel described him as ‘a modern-day El Chapo’

The US Treasury Department recently claimed Wedding has built a ‘complex web’ of assets to hide his wealth, using luxury cars, motorcycles, properties, cryptocurrency and front businesses.’

In November, Patel said Wedding was responsible for ‘engineering a narco trafficking and narco terrorism program that we have not seen in a long time.’ He and his alleged accomplices used California stash houses and semitrucks to move tons of cocaine and fentanyl through North America, according to authorities. 

That network was previously described by Bondi as ‘one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world.’

Authorities have also said there was ‘some evidence’ Wedding had undergone cosmetic surgery to alter his appearance and further evade detection.

Earlier this month, the FBI added an alleged Wedding accomplice, Bianca Canastillo-Madrid, to its ‘Wanted’ list. She was subject of a federal arrest warrant after being charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to export cocaine and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.