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FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday touted the agency’s arrest of Olympian-turned-fugitive kingpin Ryan Wedding, framing 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 monthslong manhunt. (FBI)
Wedding marked the sixth fugitive on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list captured under Patel’s tenure.
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“To put that in perspective, that’s two more than the entirety of the prior 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,” Patel said.
Wedding, 44, was placed on the FBI 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 other locations in the United States,” according to the FBI.
He is also accused of orchestrating multiple murders and attempted murder as part of his drug trafficking operation.
“Just to tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco-trafficker in modern times,” Patel said at a news conference on the tarmac of Ontario International Airport on Friday. “He’s a modern-day El Chapo. He is a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice.”
Ryan Wedding, wanted by the FBI, was seen taking a practice run for the men’s parallel giant slalom of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Park City, Feb. 13, 2002. (FBI | REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell)
WANTED EX-OLYMPIAN RYAN WEDDING CAPTURED IN MEXICO, FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL FLIES HIM BACK TO US
“This individual and his organization and the Sinaloa cartel poured narcotics into 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 bureau has made 67,000 arrests this year alone – a 200% increase from previous years.
“The FBI has captured six of the Top Ten Most [Wanted] fugitives 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, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and Iran. The FBI has found and identified 6,000 children that were missing. That is up 22%. All of these historic record-breaking numbers lead to another historic record-breaking number brought to you by President Trump’s leadership. That is a 20% decline in the murder rate in the United States of America.”
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference about the arrest of former Olympian Ryan Wedding on multinational drug trafficking charges. The news conference took place in Ontario, California, on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Amy Taxin/AP Photo)
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FBI Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis said 36 individuals 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 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 over $55 million in illicit assets” were seized by the department.
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Patel said the indictment leading to Wedding’s capture stems from the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office, which will have jurisdiction over his case. Davis said that Wedding is expected to appear in court on Monday.
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