Federal authorities arrested former Olympian Ryan Wedding, who was on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List for allegedly leading a transnational drug trafficking operation. The 44-year-old Canadian was taken into custody on Thursday night in Mexico and transported to Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, California. “One of FBI’s most wanted – Ryan Wedding arriving at the Ontario International Airport in handcuffs. The former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin now facing several drug and murder charges. First court appearance expected for Monday,” CBS Los Angeles reporter Zach Boetto said. Footage below: NEW VIDEO: One of FBI’s most wanted – Ryan Wedding arriving at the Ontario International Airport in handcuffs. The former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin now facing several drug and murder charges. First court appearance expected for Monday. @CBSLosAngeles pic.twitter.com/ZQzddV25vE — Zach Boetto (@newsmanzach) January 23, 2026 More from The New York Times: Wedding is facing charges of overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise and ordering multiple murders, including the shooting death of a federal witness last January. Wedding, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, was taken into custody on Thursday night in Mexico City and was being transported to the United States, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday. Patel, speaking at a news conference in Ontario, Calif., highlighted the cooperation between agencies in multiple countries to apprehend Wedding, whom he called “one of the world’s most wanted criminals.” The FBI had labeled the search for Wedding and his conspirators “Operation Giant Slalom.” Wedding was accused of overseeing a drug trafficking operation that used Los Angeles as its primary point of distribution, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, who said authorities in the case seized more than 2,300 kilograms of cocaine, 44 kilograms of methamphetamine, 44 kilograms of fentanyl, eight firearms and over $55 million in “illicit assets.” “Together, we have disrupted a major narcotics pipeline impacting Los Angeles, the United States and Canada,” McDonnell said during the news conference, attended by representatives from law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Authorities also highlighted cooperation between partners in Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. “At my direction, Department of Justice agents @FBI have apprehended yet another member of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List: Ryan Wedding, the onetime Olympian snowboarder-turned alleged violent cocaine kingpin. Wedding was flown to the United States where he will face justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “This is a direct result of President Trump’s law-and-order leadership. Under @POTUS, criminals have no safe harbor. Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice. We are grateful to our incredible Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for assisting us in this case,” she continued. At my direction, Department of Justice agents @FBI have apprehended yet another member of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List: Ryan Wedding, the onetime Olympian snowboarder-turned alleged violent cocaine kingpin. Wedding was flown to the United States where he will face justice.… — Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 23, 2026 Wedding was believed to have been hiding in Mexico for over a decade. Ex-Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding back on US soil, seen for first time since getting hit with murder, drug raps https://t.co/FUg7NUyh9I pic.twitter.com/T8c2ELr613 — New York Post (@nypost) January 23, 2026 The New York Post shared further: The 44-year-old was on the run for over a decade, landing on the FBI’s list of 10 most wanted fugitives in March 2025. The FBI announced earlier Friday that Wedding was captured in Mexico, calling the arrest a major blow to an international criminal network during a joint press conference alongside the LAPD, DEA and Canada’s RCMP. “When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front, and that’s what you’re seeing here,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. Wedding — who went by many aliases including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King” and “Jesse King” — turned himself in at the US embassy in Mexico, according to the Associated Press. The alleged drug trafficker was slated to appear in court Monday to face multiple charges, including running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiring to distribute cocaine and other crimes. “To tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco traffickers in modern times,” Patel told reporters, calling Wedding a modern-day El Chapo.