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FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday touted the agency’s arrest of Olympian-turned-fugitive kingpin Ryan Wedding, citing the capture as central to the FBI’s broader crime-fighting success under President Donald Trump.
Patel confirmed that Wedding, 44, was taken into custody Thursday night in Mexico as part of a multi-agency operation involving Mexican authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The FBI announced Friday that they had captured former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding after a months-long manhunt. (F.B.I.)
Wedding marked the sixth fugitive on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list captured during Patel’s tenure.
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“To put that in perspective, that’s two more than the entire previous administration, and none of this would be possible without the tremendous leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice and our partners and prosecutors at the United States Attorney’s Office here in LA and our Los Angeles field office.”
Wedding, 44, was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List in March 2025 and is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking network that “routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and elsewhere in the United States,” according to the FBI.
He is also accused of orchestrating several murders and attempted murders as part of his drug trade.
“Just to tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the biggest drug dealer of modern times,” Patel said at a news conference on the tarmac at Ontario International Airport on Friday. “He’s a modern-day El Chapo. He’s a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice.”
Ryan Wedding, wanted by the FBI, is seen practicing for the men’s parallel giant slalom at the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics in Park City, on February 13, 2002. (FBI | REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell)
WANTED EX-OLYMPIAN RYAN WEDDING TAKEN IN MEXICO, FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL FLYING HIM BACK TO US
“This person and his organization and the Sinaloa Cartel poured drugs onto the streets of North America and killed too many of our youth and corrupted too many of our citizens. And that ends today.”
Patel called 2025 a “historic year” for the FBI, noting that the agency has made 67,000 arrests this year alone — a 200% increase over previous years.
“The FBI has captured six of the ten most popular [Wanted] refugees on our board. The FBI has also seized enough fentanyl to kill 150 million Americans, a 31% increase. The FBI has arrested 35% more espionage corrupt actors from China, Russia, DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and Iran. The FBI has found and identified 6,000 children who were missing. This is an increase of 22 per cent. All of these historic record numbers lead to another historic record number, brought to you by President Trump’s leadership. That’s a 20% drop in the homicide rate in the United States.”
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference about the arrest of former Olympian Ryan Wedding on charges of multinational drug trafficking. The news conference took place in Ontario, California on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Amy Taxin/AP Photo)
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FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Akil Davis said 36 people have already been arrested in connection with Wedding’s alleged crime ring. He noted that millions in motorcycles, jewelry and valuable artwork belonging to Wedding were also seized by the authorities in addition to drugs, cash and weapons.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell added that as part of their efforts to apprehend Wedding, “more than 20,300 kg of cocaine, 44 kg of methamphetamine, 44 kg of fentanyl, eight firearms and over $55 million in illegal assets” were seized by the department.
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Patel said the charge that led to Wedding’s capture originated with the Los Angeles US Attorney’s Office, which will have jurisdiction over his case. Davis said Wedding is expected to appear in court on Monday.
