Do I smell a Breaking Bad sequel brewing? It turns out that former Canadian Olympic Snowboarder Ryan James Wedding was out there living life like the real Walter White.
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Wedding competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City where he placed 24th. However in the years since, the former Canadian snowboarder turned from the straight and narrow to a life of crime. At least, that's what federal prosecutors are saying.
They say Wedding became a major trafficker of cocaine between Canada and the United States. He smuggled drugs under The Wedding Criminal Enterprise. Through the drug trade, the former snowboarder also allegedly became a killer.
"He chose to become a major drug trafficker and a killer," U.S. Atty. for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said during a news conference. Wedding is a wanted man still on the run.
"Ryan Wedding is still at large," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Krysti Hawkins.
Prosecutors are indicting Wedding with numerous charges including three murder connections, conspiracy to export cocaine, and running a criminal enterprise.
Snowboarder Wanted
"An Olympic athlete-turned-druglord is now charged with leading a transnational organized crime group that engaged in cocaine trafficking and murder, including of innocent civilians," Estrada said.
According to prosecutors, the former snowboarder has many aliases such as Public Enemy and El Jefe. He started his drug running business in 2011. Authorities have arrested his second-in command Andrew Clark earlier this month. The group would move the cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and then into South California. They'd distribute the drugs across Canada and the U.S.
Federal prosecutors say that Wedding would kill anyone who got in their way. He would hire contract killers to come take people out. For instance, they killed an Indian couple in 2023 after mistakingly believing the couple stole their cocaine.
"They were killers. Anyone who got in their way they would target with violence, including murder," he said.
It's just one of several deaths connected to the former snowboarder. So far, they arrested 12 people connected to the drug trafficking organization. Right now, they're offering a $50,000 reward for anyone with any information.
