Coquitlam snowboarder accused of leading violent drug dealing network; FBI offers $50,000 for his arrest

A former Olympic snowboarder now known as El Jefe is a fugitive facing eight felony charges related to running an international drug trafficking network and orchestrating several murders.

Ryan James Wedding, formerly of Coquitlam, is accused of leading an organization that shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico into Southern California, where it was distributed to Canada and across the United States, as well as overseas.

“An Olympic athlete-turned-drug lord is now charged with leading a transnational organized crime group that engaged in cocaine trafficking and murder, including of innocent civilians,” stated United States Attorney Martin Estrada in a press release.

The FBI accused Wedding of “orchestrating multiple murders” on behalf of the drug dealing network. He should be considered armed and dangerous.

Wedding and Andrew Clark are accused of ordering one murder over a drug a debt and directing another killing, allegedly in retaliation for the theft of a drug shipment.

According to reporting in The Province, police stated several people murdered by the organization were cases of mistaken identity. That includes the Nov. 20, 2023 killing of Jagtar Sidhu and his wife, Harbhajan Sidhu.

The couple were visiting from India when they were shot to death in a rental home. The two had nothing to do with drug dealing according to both an Ontario Provincial Police detective as well as a U.S. federal prosecutor who spoke to CBC about the murder. Another member of the Sidhu family suffered serious physical injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Clark was arrested on Oct. 8 in Mexico.

Wedding is one of 16 defendants accused of: “allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation.”

After getting the cocaine from Mexico to Los Angeles, the network would store the shipments in stash houses before packing it into long-haul semi-trucks and ferrying it over the border into Canada, according to an indictment from the United States Department of Justice.

The gang worked with a “Canada-based drug transportation network” run by Ontario residents Hardeep Ratte and Gurpreet Singh, the indictment stated.

Wedding’s network delivered 293 kilograms of cocaine to representatives of Ratte and Singh in March 2024, according to the indictment. In April, the group attempted to bring in another 375 kilograms of cocaine but authorities seized the shipment.

Ratte and Singh were among four Canadians arrested in Ontario last week in connection with what the RCMP described as a: “Mexican Cartel-linked criminal network” responsible for moving large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States, Canada, and overseas.

Police seized more than one tonne of cocaine, according to the RCMP and: “collected evidence on numerous homicides and conspiracies to commit murder.”

Authorities also confiscated $255,400 in U.S. currency, three firearms, ammunition, and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

However, while “key members of Wedding’s criminal enterprise,” were recently arrested, Wedding remains a fugitive, stated assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office Akil Davis.

“As the world becomes more interconnected, organized crime groups continue to evolve and expand internationally. Through collaborative efforts with the FBI, we have disrupted a major organized crime group,” stated RCMP Chief Supt. Mathieu Bertrand.

The organization have been committing “greed-driven crimes” across countries from Colombia to Canada, stated Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge Matthew Allen in a release.

“They have triggered an avalanche of violent crimes, including brutal murders. Wedding, the Olympian snowboarder, went from navigating slopes to contouring a life of incessant crimes,” Allen stated.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and extradition of Wedding.

If convicted, Wedding would face life in federal prison, according to U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2015, Wedding was one of 15 people accused by the Nova Scotia RCMP of being part of an international cocaine trafficking operation. Wedding was charged with crimes including conspiracy to import and traffic cocaine.

He is six-foot-three and approximately 240 pounds, according to the FBI. He is also known as James Conrad King and Jesse King.

Wedding represented Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, finishing 24th on the parallel giant slalom.