National

Former Canadian Olympic athlete added to FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives list

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Mar, 2025 12:21 PM

A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder wanted in the U.S. on multiple charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a transnational drug trafficking ring has been added to the FBI’s list of 10 most wanted fugitives.

Ryan James Wedding is wanted for allegedly leading an organized crime group that moved large shipments of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and California to Canada and other locations in the United States.

U.S. authorities say the 43-year-old born in Thunder Bay, Ont., who competed for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, had been living in Mexico and is considered a fugitive.

The U.S. Department of State is offering a $10-million reward for information leading to Wedding’s arrest or conviction.

Wedding – whose aliases include “El Jefe" and “Public Enemy" – is facing eight felony charges, including conspiracy to export cocaine, three counts of murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and one count of attempted murder. He is one of 16 people charged in the alleged drug ring.

The charges have not been proven in court.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Vancouver council approves pause on supporting housing projects

Vancouver's council has approved Mayor Ken Sim's plan to temporarily halt net new supportive housing projects in the city. A news release from Sim's office says it will allow the city to focus to "renewing aging, deteriorating stock," and transition temporary modular housing into permanent homes, while pushing for more supply elsewhere in the region.

Vancouver council approves pause on supporting housing projects

Conservatives launch attacks on Mark Carney over his firm's relocation to the U.S.

Carney has become the primary target of Conservative attacks in recent weeks and the party is telling its supporters through fundraising emails that the race is a "sham" and just a "coronation."

Conservatives launch attacks on Mark Carney over his firm's relocation to the U.S.

B.C. looks at coalition of willing provinces to expand trade within Canada, Eby says

The threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and services has pushed the need for improved interprovincial trade as provinces look for ways to diversify their markets to protect economies and jobs. Despite the establishment of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement in 2017, many products do not trade freely among provinces and territories.

B.C. looks at coalition of willing provinces to expand trade within Canada, Eby says

Immigrant-owned firms suffer from productivity gap for variety of factors: StatCan

Companies owned by newcomers to Canada tend to struggle taking their businesses to the next level more than Canadian-born founders, new data suggests. The report released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday explores barriers immigrants to Canada can face when starting and scaling a business. One of the most significant findings was around labour productivity — how much an individual can produce in an hour of work.

Immigrant-owned firms suffer from productivity gap for variety of factors: StatCan

Quebec caps international students but is hazy on numbers

Quebec is taking steps to cut the number of international students in the province, but can't say by how many. The government will issue a maximum of around 124,000 acceptance certificates to foreign students this year, down from more than 156,000 last year. The measure targets private colleges that the government has said are using education as a business model to sell citizenship.

Quebec caps international students but is hazy on numbers

Polls suggest a close race as federal election approaches

Multiple polls now suggest the next federal election — which could begin in a matter of weeks — will be a tight race. At least one major pollster has the Liberals in the lead and ahead of the Conservatives for the first time in nearly four years.