Operation Giant Slalom: Bounty for Canadian alleged narcotics trafficker now $15 million

Reward Raised for Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Ryan Wedding 

The U.S. has raised the reward for Canadian alleged narcotics trafficker Ryan Wedding to $15 million, with additional rewards offered for information leading to the arrests of unknown assassins who murdered a potential witness last January in Medellín, Colombia.  

Wedding, who is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is a snowboarder who represented Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. After his snowboarding career, Wedding turned to a life of crime as a transnational narcotics trafficker.  

In a November 19 press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., officials from the U.S. and Canada described Wedding as a narco-trafficker on par with notorious drug lords like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wedding’s operation was responsible for more than $1 billion a year in illegal drug proceeds. 

“He controls one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in this world,” Bondi said, adding that under Wedding’s direction his operation has trafficked 60 metric tons of cocaine per year. “He is the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada.” 

Officials said Wedding is believed to live in Mexico. They said the 44-year-old works with the Sinaloa Cartel there to flood U.S. and Canadian communities with cocaine from Colombia and that the cartel is protecting him.

In new indictments announced today, Wedding was accused of ordering the murder of a federal witness—who was executed with five bullets to the head earlier this year—before he could testify against Wedding. Among seven subjects arrested today in Canada was Wedding’s attorney, Deepak Paradkar, who allegedly recommended to Wedding that he have the witness murdered. 

“Today’s announcement is a culmination of the steadfast work of the FBI and our partners around the world to identify and dismantle violent gang and drug organizations.”

Kash Patel, FBI Director

The Department of Justice and FBI are working closely with the State and Treasury departments, as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs offered the increased reward under its Narcotics Rewards Program. Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Wedding and others closely associated with him, effectively cutting them off from their financial accounts in the U.S. 

“Today’s announcement is a culmination of the steadfast work of the FBI and our partners around the world to identify and dismantle violent gang and drug organizations,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. Wedding’s “criminal activities and violent actions will not be tolerated, and this is a clear signal that the FBI will use our resources and expertise to find Ryan Wedding and bring him and his associates to justice.”

Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said Wedding—at 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing about 240 pounds—should stand out in Mexico. Davis said Wedding may change his appearance and hair color and should not be approached because he is dangerous. 

“We will find him, and we will bring him to justice,” Davis said.

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Former Olympian Wanted for Running Transnational Drug Enterprise and Ordering Several Murders Added to FBI’s List of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

News Release from Thursday, March 6, 2025

LOS ANGELES – Former Olympic snowboarder and Canadian national, Ryan Wedding, 43, has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, announced today during a press conference in Westwood.   

ADIC Davis was joined by law enforcement partners with the United States Department of State, Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Federal Policing, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration – Los Angeles, and the United States Attorney’s Office – Central District of California. 

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. 

At present, Wedding is wanted for allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking network that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States, and for orchestrating multiple murders and an attempted murder in furtherance of these drug crimes. 

Wedding’s placement on the top 10 list marks the 535th addition to the FBI’s list of notorious fugitives. Wedding will replace Alexis Flores who is wanted by FBI Philadelphia. Although Flores is being removed from the list today, he will remain on the FBI’s website on its Most Wanted page.            

“As alleged in the superseding indictment, defendant Ryan Wedding – a former Olympian – led a transnational criminal organization that murdered innocent people and put thousands of kilograms of narcotics on our streets,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally. “The reward offered today will help bring this defendant to justice in the United States. We urge anyone with information about Wedding to contact law enforcement and help us get Mr. Wedding into custody.”

“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. 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, and his addition to the list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, coupled with a major reward offer by the State Department, will make the public our partner so that we can catch up with him before he puts anyone else in danger.”

Additionally, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced that it is offering a $10-million-reward for information leading to Wedding’s arrest and/or conviction. The reward was authorized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio under the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP), which supports law enforcement efforts to disrupt transnational crime globally and bring fugitives to justice. This reward offering supplements the FBI’s current offering of $50,000 for information leading to Wedding’s apprehension, arrest, and extradition, and further, is jointly being offered with assistance from the Canadian and Mexican governments as part of a unified effort to bring Wedding to justice. 

“The Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ryan James Wedding,” said Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). “We are committed to protecting American communities from thugs who, with clear consciences, deliberately peddle illicit narcotics and prey on our youth.” 

In June 2024, Wedding and his second-in-command Andrew Clark, 34, also Canadian, were charged in an indictment out of the Central District of California with running a continuing criminal enterprise; committing murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and assorted drug crimes; and conspiring to possess, distribute, and export cocaine. Clark, who was arrested last October by Mexican authorities, was among the 29 fugitives whom Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced had arrived in the United States from Mexico last week.   

In September 2024, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned a superseding indictment naming 14 additional defendants and including, among other counts, an attempted murder charge against Wedding and Clark.  The superseding indictment alleges that Wedding, Clark, and others conspired to ship bulk quantities of cocaine – weighing hundreds of kilograms – from Southern California to Canada through a Canada-based drug transportation network run by Hardeep Ratte, 46, of Ontario, Canada, and Gurpreet Singh, 31, of Ontario, Canada, from approximately January 2024 to August 2024. The cocaine shipments were transported from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, where the cocaine trafficking organization’s operatives stored the cocaine in stash houses, before delivering it to the transportation network couriers for delivery to Canada using long-haul semi-trucks. 

The superseding indictment also alleges that Wedding and Clark’s organization resorted to violence – including multiple murders – to achieve its aims. Wedding and Clark allegedly directed the November 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that passed through Southern California. Another member of that family survived the shooting but was left with serious physical injuries. Wedding and Clark allegedly also ordered the murder of another victim on May 18, 2024, over a drug debt. In addition, Clark and Malik Damion Cunningham, 23, a dual Canadian-American citizen, are charged with the April 1, 2024, murder of another victim in Ontario, Canada.

“The RCMP is committed to working with our international partners in the fight against transnational criminals,” said Liam Price, Director General, Royal Canadian Mounted Police International program. “It’s imperative that Ryan Wedding faces justice for the charges against him.  We will continue to stand with and support our US and Mexican partners in this and other investigations to protect the public.”

If convicted, Wedding and Clark would face a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison on their respective continuing criminal enterprise charge. The murder and attempted murder charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The drug trafficking charges carry mandatory minimum penalties of 10 to 15 years in prison.

“The former Canadian snowboarder unleashed an avalanche of death and destruction, here and abroad,” said Matthew Allen, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division. “He earned the name ‘El Jefe’, becoming boss of a violent transnational drug trafficking organization. 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.”

The FBI urges anyone with information as to Wedding’s whereabouts to contact the FBI via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram at +1-424 495-0614. These are neither government-operated nor government-controlled platforms. Callers may also contact their local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Confidentiality will be granted to anyone who calls with information. 

Investigators believe that Wedding is residing in Mexico but have not ruled out his presence in the United States, Canada, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, or elsewhere.

Wedding is further described as follows:

• Aliases:  James Conrad King, Jesse King
• DOB:  September 14, 1981
• Hair:  Brown, may wear a beard and/or mustache
• Eyes:  Blue
• Height:  6’3”
• Weight:  240 lbs. (may vary)
• Nationality:  Canadian
• Place of Birth: Thunder Bay, Canada
• Monikers: “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “El Jefe”

Photographs and reward information about Wedding will be posted on digital billboards in key locations, as well as on fbi.gov, and on the FBI’s social media platforms. Additional information about Wedding and other Top Ten Fugitives is available at this link: Top Ten Fugitives.

The FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list was established in March 1950.  Since its inception, 535 fugitives have been placed on the list of “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives,” 496 of whom were apprehended or located; 163 were due to citizen cooperation.

The FBI is investigating Wedding and Clark’s drug trafficking enterprise with the Los Angeles Police Department, DEA Los Angeles, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Federal Policing. In addition, significant assistance has been provided by U.S. law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations – Detroit, and United States Customs and Border Protection – Buffalo; Canadian law enforcement partners, including Niagara Regional Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Toronto Police Service, and Peel Regional Police; Mexican law enforcement partners; and Colombian law enforcement partners, including Colombian National Police – Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol, Special Interagency Investigation Group (Policía Nacional de Colombia – Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol, Grupo Especial de Investigación Interagenciales).

Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsi Allsop and Maria Jhai of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Ryan Waters of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

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10 Arrested in Federal Indictment Charging Olympic Athlete-Turned-Cocaine Trafficker with Ordering Murder of Witness in January

WASHINGTON – Ten defendants have been arrested – and 11 total are in custody – pursuant to a nine-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed today charging a former Olympic snowboarder now on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List, a Canadian criminal barrister, a reggaeton musician, a would-be gangland news website operator, and others in connection with the January 31 murder in Colombia of a federal witness in a separate criminal case.

Ryan James Wedding, 44, a Canadian national residing in Mexico, the case’s lead defendant, is charged with overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise – including by engaging in witness intimidation tactics such as murder – and enriching himself with the enterprise’s laundered drug proceeds. In March 2025, Wedding was placed on the FBI’s List of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. There is an increased $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or prosecution.

The following defendants were arrested Tuesday as part of the second phase of a law enforcement action entitled “Operation Giant Slalom”:

• Deepak Balwant Paradkar, 62, of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada;
• Atna Ohna, 40, of Laval, Québec, Canada;
• Gursewak Singh Bal, 31, of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada;
• Allistair Chapman, 33, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada;
• Ahmad Nabil Zitoun, 35, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;
• Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez, 47, of Bogotá, Colombia;
• Yulieth Katherine Tejada, 36, of Orlando, Florida, who is legal permanent resident from Colombia;
• Edwin Basora-Hernandez, 31, of Montréal;
• Wilson Riascos, 45, of Cali, Colombia; and
• Rolan Sokolovski, 37, of Toronto.

“Whether you’re a kingpin or a dealer on the street, anyone who sells drugs to our kids will be arrested and prosecuted,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Ryan Wedding controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in this world and works closely with the Sinaloa Cartel. We will not rest until his name is taken off the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List, and his narco-trafficking organization lies dismantled.”

“The murder of a witness in Colombia earlier this year was a cruel, cold-blooded act that could not and did not go unanswered,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “This week’s arrests underscore our resolve to root out and punish the wrongdoers involved in this criminal organization and serve as a warning for drug lord Ryan Wedding: If convicted, you will never see the outside of a prison ever again.”

“Today’s announcement is a culmination of the steadfast work of the FBI and our partners around the world to identify and dismantle violent gang and drug organizations,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Ryan Wedding and his associates allegedly imported tons of cocaine each year from Colombia through Mexico and onto the streets of U.S. communities. His criminal activities and violent actions will not be tolerated, and this is a clear signal that the FBI will use our resources and expertise to find Ryan Wedding and bring him and his associates to justice.”

“Ryan Wedding’s athletic drive snowballed into a life of violence and, instead of conquering mountains, he mastered a deadly drug distribution enterprise and will continue to order murders while he enjoys protection by his cartel associates and others,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “‘Operation Giant Slalom’ is a dynamic international investigation and involves dedicated partners collaborating in multiple countries with the shared goal of capturing Wedding, finding justice for several murder victims – including a cooperating witness – and ridding communities in North America of deadly drugs.”

“No one, not even a former Olympian, is above the law,” said Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “We are increasing our reward offer to up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ryan Wedding. We are also offering rewards of up to $2 million each for the assassins behind the murder of his associate in Colombia.”

“Today we’re exposing the network of associates and enablers behind Ryan Wedding – one of the most notorious criminals and narcotraffickers still evading justice,” said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley. “Treasury is joining with the FBI and the Department of Justice to cut Wedding and his criminal partners off from the U.S. financial system and help dismantle the network they rely on. Our goal is simple: make it difficult for criminals like this to profit from poisoning our communities.”

“International cooperation, such as our involvement in Operation Giant Slalom, is vital to our ability to stay ahead of organized crime,” said Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme. “The RCMP and its international law enforcement partners work together closely, regularly sharing knowledge, technical expertise, and intelligence to enable us to collectively target the most serious organized crime groups that threaten our countries – no matter where they are operating in the world.”

To eliminate threats and advance his enterprise’s interests, Wedding issued orders to murder various individuals, including an order to kill the victim, a witness in a 2024 federal narcotics case against Wedding, which resulted in the victim’s death. Wedding placed a bounty on the victim and enlisted the services of others to locate and kill the victim, who was shot to death in a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, in January 2025.

In the 2024 indictment, Wedding is charged with running a continuing criminal enterprise, assorted drug trafficking charges, and directing the November 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Caledon, Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that passed through Southern California. Another member of that family survived the shooting but was left with serious physical injuries.

Also charged in the indictment unsealed today are 18 additional defendants, including Paradkar, a criminal barrister who advised Wedding to murder the victim so that Wedding would avoid extradition to the United States from Mexico on the 2024 federal criminal charges against him. Paradkar also provided Wedding with court documents and discovery to which he would not otherwise have access, and – through attorneys whose representation he secured – access to enterprise members and associates who either were arrested, indicted, or under investigation.

Bal was the co-founder and co-operator of “The Dirty News,” a website that law enforcement seized pursuant to a federal warrant. In exchange for payment, Bal agreed to not post about Wedding and instead posted a photograph of the victim so that the victim could be located and killed.

Basora-Hernandez, a reggaeton musician and citizen of the Dominican Republic, provided co-conspirators with the victim’s contact information for the purpose of helping Wedding and his criminal enterprise locate and murder the victim.

Concurrent with Tuesday’s arrests, law enforcement has taken immigration action against associates of Wedding’s enterprise, including Latin pop artist Samantha Melissa Granda-Gastelu, 38, a Canadian national residing in Aventura, Florida, whose husband Nahim Jorge Bonilla, 37, has been indicted on separate murder conspiracy charges. Bonilla is in currently in federal custody, charged with drug trafficking crimes. An immigration action also is being initiated against Madeline Paradkar, 27, a Canadian national residing in Chicago who is an attorney and Paradkar’s daughter.

Law enforcement continues to search for Wedding, and the following three defendants:

• Rasheed Pascua Hossain, 32, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada;
• Bianca Canastillo-Madrid, 37, of Mexico City; and
• Tommy Demorizi, 35, of Montréal, who is believed to be a fugitive in the Dominican Republic

If convicted, Wedding – and the defendants charged in connection with the victim’s murder – would face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter with the Los Angeles Police Department, the United States Departments of State and Treasury – Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Federal Policing. In addition, significant assistance was provided by U.S. law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigation Miami and Chicago and U.S. Customs and Border Protection – Buffalo; Canadian law enforcement partners, including Ontario Provincial Police, and Colombian law enforcement partners, including Colombian National Police – Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol, Special Interagency Investigation Group (Policía Nacional de Colombia – Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol, Grupo Especial de Investigación Interagenciales).

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá, Colombia also provided significant assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsi Allsop and Kenneth R. Carbajal of the Major Crimes Section and Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Galatzan, Tara Vavere, and Alexander Su of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

This case is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, TCOs, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.