The hunt for Ryan Wedding, a man once known for carving down Olympic slopes, has descended into a desperate, high-stakes game of cat and mouse. Now 44, Wedding is alleged to be Canada’s most significant cocaine kingpin, and his freedom may be nearing a brutal end.
For years, Wedding evaded capture, believed to be sheltered within the formidable ranks of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. The FBI recently escalated the pressure, adding him to their Ten Most Wanted list and offering a staggering $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. The net is tightening.
Newly released photographs offer a glimpse into Wedding’s life on the run. One image, taken last summer, shows him shirtless in bed, a striking lion tattoo emblazoned across his chest – a display of bravado that may prove to be his undoing. Another depicts a shaved-headed Wedding in a simple green t-shirt, a stark contrast to his former life.
The relentless spotlight must be scorching for a man accustomed to operating in the shadows. The cost of protecting him – both financially and politically – could become too great, even for a cartel as powerful as Sinaloa. His very presence is a liability.
Wedding’s alleged empire is built on a terrifying scale, flooding North American streets with a torrent of cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin. He reportedly utilized seemingly legitimate South Asian-owned trucking companies as a front to smuggle his illicit cargo from Mexico to Los Angeles, and ultimately, into Canada.
Comparisons to notorious drug lords like Pablo Escobar and “El Chapo” Guzmán are unavoidable, painting a picture of a criminal whose reach and influence have left a trail of devastation. But unlike his predecessors, Wedding’s escape may be running out of road.
Law enforcement officials suggest Wedding has gone to extreme lengths to alter his appearance, possibly even undergoing plastic surgery. Yet, at 6-foot-3 and weighing between 230 and 250 pounds with a distinctive ginger complexion, blending into the Mexican landscape will be a monumental challenge.
“Someone like Ryan Wedding is going to stick out in Mexico,” stated a high-ranking FBI official, emphasizing the crucial role the public plays in his capture. The FBI is actively seeking any information that could lead to his location and arrest.
The accusations against Wedding are chilling. He’s suspected of ordering dozens of murders, including the tragic and mistaken killing of a couple in Caledon. The brutality extends to the alleged execution of a former associate, a federal witness, whom Wedding reportedly labeled a “rat” and placed a $5 million bounty on his head.
Conviction on these charges could land Wedding on federal death row, a grim fate far removed from the ski resorts of his youth. But a more immediate and violent end looms, should the cartels decide his protection is no longer worth the risk. The stakes have never been higher.
