Ex-Olympic snowboarder in FBI's top 10 most wanted list as billion-dollar 'cocaine kingpin' with $15mn bounty

Ryan Wedding, once an Olympian, now has a $15 million bounty on his head; Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday announced that Ryan was added to the FBI's top 10 most wanted list in 2025, and he is also the top narcos in Mexico. The rise of the modern-day Pablo Escobar is so dramatic that it requires a Hollywood adaptation. He competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics Snowboarding for Canada; now he works with the Sinola Cartel, based in Mexico and moves around 60 metric tons of cocaine a year. According to Pam Bondi, no single individual is sending more cocaine to California

From an Olympian to a modern-day Escobar

Wedding was born in a skiing family in Ontario; his grandmother ran a ski resort, and his father was a professional skier. He followed in their footsteps and participated in the 2022 Winter Olympics, but a disappointing finish at 24th made him rethink his career choices. He then started working as club security, then selling marijuana part-time time and then he started selling drugs. His marijuana operations were once busted, and he was captured. Authorities recovered $10 million, but he walked away due to the lack of evidence. In 2008, he was arrested on charges of buying cocaine. He served four years in Prison, and emerged more determined to finish small-time dealing and joined the Mexican cartel Sinola, where he is called "El Jefe" or “the boss”, his other nicknames include "Giant," and "Public Enemy". The Department of Justice allege that Wedding is one of the world's most prolific and violent drug traffickers. FBI Chief Kash Patel called him the modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar. He orchestrated several killings, including the murder of several federal witnesses in Colombia who were set to testify against him.

The US Department has captured several of his co-conspirators, including his former Canadian lawyer Deepak Paradkar. He is so notorious that the US, Canada and Mexico are working together to capture him. The operation is called ‘Giant Slalom’. Netflix is also preparing for its expanding documentary slate on the cocaine kingpin - “ Snow King: From Olympian to Narco.”