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Canadian drug defense attorney Deepak Paradkar has been arrested as part of the FBI’s sweeping crackdown on former Olympian Ryan Wedding, the FBI and DOJ announced Wednesday.
Wedding, a former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder, remains at large on several charges, including murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and drug crime, tampering with a witness, victim or informant, and retaliation against a witness, victim or informant.
Paradkar was described as Wedding’s attorney at the news conference by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. Essayli also claimed that Paradkar advised Wedding to have a witness killed in an attempt to have the case dismissed.
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An aide displays a wanted poster during a press conference announcing the indictment of former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, charging him with murder and money laundering in connection with a drug trafficking organization at the Justice Department November 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“His lawyer advised him to kill this witness. His lawyer told him, ‘If you kill this witness, the case would be dismissed.’ This attorney is now in custody and will be extradited and brought to justice here in the United States,” Essayli said.
Meanwhile, the indictment against Paradkar reads: “Defendant Paradkar and other persons known and unknown to the grand jury allegedly advised defendant Wedding and [Wedding’s accomplice Andrew] Clark that the murder of Victim A would benefit them by leading to the dismissal of the federal indictment against them in the Marriage I case and associated extradition proceedings.
The indictment goes on to allege that Paradkar allowed Clark to “secretly” listen in on a conversation he was having with another accused suspect. The indictment also alleged that while Clark and another defendant discussed the murder of another co-defendant, Paradkar advised them to “discuss the matter on another conversation without his presence and to remove any discussion of the murder plot.”
A news release from the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued separate sanctions against Paradkar on Wednesday, with officials accusing the lawyer of violating “the trust of his clients and the ethics of his profession” by allowing Wedding and his associates to listen in on privileged communications.
WHO IS RYAN MARRIAGE? The Olympian became the suspected murderous drug kingpin and the FBI’s top target.
“Paradkar is a Canadian lawyer who provided a range of illegal services to Wedding and his drug trafficking organization beyond the scope of a normal attorney-client relationship,” the press release states.
“Paradkar introduced Wedding to the drug dealers who transported Wedding’s cocaine and also assisted Wedding in corruption and murder cases.
“Paradkar violated his clients’ trust and the ethics of his profession by allowing Wedding and his associates to listen in on privileged communications between Paradkar and his other clients, several of whom Wedding wanted to murder. Wedding paid Paradkar with luxury watches and additional fees for these illegal services.”
Wedding ultimately ordered the targeting of a federal witness by posting photos of him online, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed Wednesday. The ex-Olympian allegedly shared the photographs of the witness who was to testify against him on a now-deleted website called “The Dirty News”, after his indictment in 2024, Bondi said.
The witness was then shot dead in a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia on January 31.
Federal authorities on Wednesday increased the reward for Wedding’s capture to $15 million.
Wedding, 44, and 14 other alleged associates were charged with orchestrating the January 2025 murder of a witness who was fatally shot at a restaurant in Colombia. Officials said Wedding placed a bounty on the victim’s head, believing his death would result in charges being dropped against him and the drug trafficking ring he allegedly led.
Wedding is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is described as “an extremely violent criminal believed to be responsible for the murder of numerous people overseas,” according to federal officials.
Wedding is allegedly responsible for trafficking tons of cocaine through Colombia and Mexico for distribution in the United States and Canada and uses cryptocurrency to hide his wealth. The FBI said Wedding ordered dozens of killings in North America and Latin America.
Marriage participated in 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City after missing the 1998 Games. Those were the only Olympics he competed in.
In his only event, the men’s parallel giant slalom, Wedding finished in 24th place. Swiss Philipp Schoch won gold, Swede Richard Rikardsson silver and American Chris Klug bronze.
The FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police allege Wedding and Clark coordinated a November 2023 double homicide in Ontario involving an innocent couple in a mistaken identity killing, according to the FBI.
Ryan Wedding of Canada trains for the men’s parallel giant slalom at the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics in Park City, February 13, 2002. (Reuters/Jeff J Mitchell)
Wedding and Clark are also accused of coordinating the murder of another person in May over a drug debt.
The murder and criminal enterprise charges against Wedding carry a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison.
