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FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday touted the agency’s arrest of Olympian-turned-fugitive Ryan Wedding, describing the capture as critical to the FBI’s broader success in fighting crime under President Donald Trump.
Patel confirmed that Wedding, 44, was arrested Thursday evening 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 it had captured former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding after a months-long manhunt. (FBI)
Wedding is 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 in the United States Attorney’s Office here in Los Angeles and our Los Angeles Field Office,” Patel said.
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 “regularly shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States,” according to the FBI.
He is also accused of orchestrating multiple murders and attempted murders as part of his drug trafficking operation.
“Just to tell you what a bad guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from being an Olympic snowboarder to the biggest drug trafficker of modern times,” Patel said at a news conference on the tarmac at Ontario International Airport Friday. “He’s a modern-day El Chapo. He’s a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could escape justice.”
Ryan Wedding, wanted by the FBI, was seen training for the men’s parallel giant slalom at the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics in Park City, February 13, 2002. (FBI | REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell)
WANTED EX-OLYMPIAN RYAN WEDDING CAPTURED IN MEXICO, FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL REPORTS TO US
“This individual, his organization and the Sinaloa Cartel have dumped drugs on the streets of North America, killed too many young people and corrupted too many citizens. And it ends today.”
Patel called 2025 a “historic year” for the FBI, noting that the bureau made 67,000 arrests this year alone, a 200% increase over previous years.
“The FBI captured six of the ten most [Wanted] fugitives to our board of directors. The FBI also seized enough fentanyl to kill 150 million Americans, a 31% increase. The FBI has arrested 35% more corrupt actors in espionage from China, Russia, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), and Iran. The FBI has located and identified 6,000 missing children. This represents an increase of 22%. All of these all-time high numbers lead to another all-time high number presented by President Trump’s leadership. This represents a 20% drop in the murder rate in the United States of America. »
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks at a press conference regarding the arrest of former Olympian Ryan Wedding on multinational drug trafficking charges. The press conference took place in Ontario, California on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Amy Taxin/AP Photo)
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FBI Deputy Director Akil Davis said 36 people have already been arrested in connection with Wedding’s alleged criminal network. He noted that millions of motorcycles, jewelry and valuable artwork belonging to Wedding had also been seized by 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 kilograms of cocaine, 44 kilograms of methamphetamine, 44 kilograms of fentanyl, eight firearms and more than $55 million in illicit assets” were seized by the department.
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Patel said the indictment leading to Wedding’s capture came from the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, which will have jurisdiction over his case. Davis said Wedding is expected to appear in court Monday.
