SANTA ANA (CNS) – Accused drug lord Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, pleaded not guilty Monday to 17 federal charges alleging he ran a narcotics trafficking organization and ordered the killing of a witness.
The 44-year-old Wedding — who was sixth on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List until his arrest late last week — was believed to have been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade. He had been wanted on cocaine trafficking and murder charges since 2024.
During his appearance in federal court in Santa Ana Monday, Wedding was ordered to remain jailed without bail. He is due back in court — in federal court in Los Angeles — for a status conference on Feb. 11, with a tentative trial date set for March 24.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X on Friday that Wedding was taken into custody in Mexico City on Thursday night. He was flown to the Los Angeles area on Friday to face federal charges.
Monday’s arraignment had been originally scheduled in Los Angeles, but because of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the hearing was transferred to Santa Ana, Wedding’s attorney, Anthony Colombo, told reporters.
Colombo also disputed reports that Wedding had surrendered to authorities.
“He didn’t surrender,” Colombo told reporters after the hearing. “He was apprehended. He was arrested. Any spin the government in Mexico is putting on this that he surrendered is inaccurate. … The Trump administration apprehension of (Venezuelan president Nicolas) Maduro has made clear we’re in a bold new era with regard to international relations. So one can understand why that statement might have been put out. Because the U.S. government is unilaterally going into (a) sovereign country and apprehending somebody, you can understand the concern that sovereign entity might have.”
Colombo said he plans to eventually ask that Wedding be granted bail. He said that when he files that motion, he will seek to have the document sealed, because Wedding’s family and supporters helping to secure the bail have the right to privacy.
A $15 million reward had been offered for information leading to his capture and conviction.
“This is a huge day for a safer North America, and the world, and a message that those who break our laws and harm our citizens will be brought to justice,” Patel posted last week when announcing the arrest.
Wedding was allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California across the United States and Canada, as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to Patel.
Wedding was indicted in October on multiple federal charges, including running a continuing criminal enterprise, committing murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and assorted drug crimes.
The nine-count updated indictment alleges that Wedding ordered the killing of a witness who was set to testify against him in a federal drug case.
Wedding is among 19 defendants — including a Canadian criminal barrister, a reggaeton musician, and a would-be gangland news website operator – – charged in connection with the Jan. 31, 2025, witness murder in Colombia.
Wedding, the case’s lead defendant, is accused of overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise — including by engaging in witness intimidation tactics such as murder — and enriching himself with the enterprise’s laundered drug proceeds. In March 2025, Wedding was placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List.
“Ryan Wedding’s athletic drive snowballed into a life of violence and, instead of conquering mountains, he mastered a deadly drug distribution enterprise,” Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles bureau, said in November.
Wedding competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Colombo said his client has developed “mental toughness” as an athlete on the world stage and is in relatively “good spirits.” He was seen smiling while chatting with his attorney prior to the hearing.
If convicted, Wedding — and the defendants charged in connection with the murder — could face life in federal prison, according to prosecutors.
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