Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder would not improve on his results in Turin four years later.
Instead, the FBI alleges that the 43-year-old became the “leader” of a multinational drug trafficking ring that allegedly moved tens of millions of dollars' worth of cocaine across four countries and ordered four murders in Canada.
In the 53-page indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice on Oct. 17 and obtained by CTV News Toronto, officials laid out the inner workings of the alleged operation, which also included the names of nine other Canadians.
The group allegedly smuggled 1,800 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of approximately $25 million, over several months from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, and into Canada and other parts of the United States using a complex network of couriers and drivers. . And distributors and caches.
Here's what we know about the giant meandering process:
“Leader”
According to his Olympic biography, Wedge was named, but never charged, in a search warrant in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, investigating an illegal marijuana grow in 2006.
Two years later, he was arrested and convicted of attempting to buy cocaine from a U.S. government agent and sentenced to four years in prison.
This information, which remains publicly available on the official Olympics website, is a preview of the criminal career the FBI alleges Wedding would embark on in the following decade.
The indictment alleges that Wedding, whose aliases include “El Jefe,” “Boss” and “Giant,” operated his illicit drug empire from 2011 to 2024, in California, Mexico, Colombia, Canada and elsewhere. He was allegedly the “principal, organizer and leader” of the criminal enterprise, along with fellow Canadian Andrew Clark, 34.
The duo not only ran the operation together, but they also allegedly directed the murder of a couple in Caledon, Ontario, on November 20, 2023. The indictment said “in retaliation” for a stolen drug shipment that passed through southern California. However, police said the couple, Jagtar Singh Sidhu, 57, and Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu, 55, were unintended targets of the shooting and were “completely innocent.” His daughter, Jasprit Kaur Sidhu, 28, survived.
In addition to the double murder in Caledon, Wedding and Clark also allegedly ordered the murder of another victim in Brampton on May 18, 2024, over drug debts.
Local police say Wedge, Clark and another suspect, 23-year-old Canadian Malik Damion Cunningham, also face murder charges in Niagara Falls on April 1, 2024.
Clark, who the FBI said lived in Mexico and was known to his followers as “The Dictator,” was arrested by local authorities in Mexico earlier this month. Cunningham was arrested in April. Wedding, who apparently also resides in Mexico, is on the loose.
Wedding is the main defendant in the indictment and is wanted on eight counts, including three counts of murder in connection with an ongoing criminal enterprise. Clark faces the same charges, plus an additional count of murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and a drug offense.
In addition to the charge, Wedding faces other “unsolved” drug trafficking charges in Canada dating back to 2015, according to the RCMP.
Speaking at a news conference earlier this month, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said investigators believe Weiding resumed drug trafficking after being released from prison following a conviction in 2010, and has since enjoyed the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for his arrest.
Of the 16 suspects named in the indictment, 14 are in police custody.
meeting in Mexico City
Details revealed in an extradition court request obtained by CTV News Toronto show that police south of the border knew where Wedding and Clark were in January 2024.
According to the statement of facts included in the request, at the direction of US authorities, a cooperating witness (CW) met the couple somewhere in Mexico City that month.
Officials allege that CW, who began working with police last year, had been dealing drugs with Wedding for more than a decade before the meeting.
The court document shows that the conversation was “legally recorded” and in it, CW was ordered to coordinate two Canadians in the trucking industry the following month to coordinate cocaine shipments.
“Clark told The CW that Wedge would transport up to 350 kilograms of cocaine at a time,” the document reads.
The wedding was not captured.
Communication
The FBI said Wedding and Clark used a Canada-based drug transportation network to move their products, and identified Ontario residents Hardeep Rat, 45, and Gurpreet Singh, 30, as managers of that part of the operation.
“Defendant Clark was directing the individual to negotiate a transportation agreement with a Canada-based drug transportation network ('TP') operated by defendants Ratti and Singh,” the indictment reads.
According to the Department of Justice, the cocaine shipments were transported from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, stored in a bunker and delivered to TP “couriers” for transport to Canada in long-haul semi-trailers.
In one incident, on February 20, 2024, the prosecution alleges that Ratti and Singh had an in-person meeting in Toronto with CW from the Mexico City meeting.
The FBI alleges that during that standoff, Ratti and Singh agreed to transport DTO cocaine from California to Canada for a flat rate of $220,000 per load.
Under the command of Ratti and Singh were two other Canadians, Rahim Ibragimov and Gennady Belonog, who the indictment alleges served as “dispatchers” for the ring, collecting cocaine from central California for eventual transportation to Canada.
In another incident, on March 4, the FBI said a defendant named Carlos Alberto Peña Guinesh (who is not Canadian) delivered 293 kilograms of cocaine to Belonog and sent a text message to Wedding that said: “Ready, boss delivered the order 293”.
While Ontario police arrested Ibragimov last week, Belonog remains at large.
Two other drivers, Canadians Ranjit Singh Rawal and Iqbal Singh Virk, were also arrested in the United States for their alleged involvement in the plot.
“Driving over Niagara leaves these guys off the top.”
The statement of facts also refers to an encrypted communication between Clark and Cunningham, in which the former allegedly hired Cunningham “to kill a list of targets,” which included a victim identified as RF in the court document.
On March 18, 2024, Cunnigham exchanged messages with Clark on Threema, an encrypted instant messaging app, authorities said. “Well, I want to do the easy thing and move on,” Cunningham allegedly wrote.
“Maybe ginger from Niagara Falls, haha,” Clark responded, according to the statement of facts. “But 100,000 isn't much and I'll pay the expenses. The Driveaway job was going to be done by someone else, but it's good to put your new military training skills to the test.”
The documents went on to state that Clark then asked Cunningham to “drive over Niagara to blow these guys up.”
Other details, including vehicle descriptions and photographs matching evidence found by police at the crime scene, were found in Threema's communications, court documents indicated.
Cunningham's phone was also scanned two kilometers from RF's residence on April 1, according to the statement of facts. Court documents allege that Cunnigham took a photo with his phone two days after the murder, showing a gun and a large amount of Canadian currency with the caption “Good night!”
Niagara Regional Police have since identified the victim as 29-year-old Ryan Vader.
Wedding, Clark threatens to kill defendant's mother: indictment
Another Canadian named in the indictment is Nahim Jorge Bonilla, who the FBI says owed drug debts to Wedding and Clark, which saw the ring's alleged leaders threaten his mother's life if he didn't pay.
While it is unclear exactly when the deal took place, the indictment says Wedding and Clark supplied Bonilla with 12 kilograms of cocaine. Authorities allege that Bonilla paid for seven of those kilograms at the time of delivery and the remaining five were delivered.
Bonilla then allegedly “attempted” to distribute 12 kilograms of cocaine.
However, the deal fell through when authorities said Bonilla did not pay the five kilograms he received as a debt.
“On June 14, 2024, through Threema, and using coded language, defendant Wedding told defendant Bonilla that he was going to kill his mother,” the indictment reads.
Bonilla was given until June 17 to pay the balance, and then sent a payment to Wedding and Clark for two kilograms through a form of cryptocurrency.
As for the remaining three kilograms, the Justice Department said Bonilla agreed to send a driver to Laval, Quebec, to sell approximately 20 kilograms of methamphetamine as payment to Wedding and Clark.
“On June 25, 2024, through Threema, and using coded language, defendant Wedding told CS (a confidential source working with law enforcement) that defendant Bonilla had paid him the total of 5 kilograms of cocaine.”
With files from Brian Aguilar
