A former Olympic snowboarder is accused of running a major transnational drug trafficking organization that shipped massive amounts of cocaine and allegedly hired hitmen to murder multiple people, federal officials said.
Ryan Wedding, 43, a former Olympian from Canada who now resides in Mexico, is among 16 people charged in a federal indictment, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
The “prolific and ruthless” organized crime group shipped “literally tons of cocaine into the United States and Canada,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said during a press briefing.
“They were killers,” said Estrada. “Anyone who got in their way they would target with violence. Including murder.”
Wedding allegedly ran the billion-dollar operation for the past 13 years from Mexico, Estrada said. The organization allegedly moved about 60 tons of cocaine per year, Estrada said.
At one point, the group used the Los Angeles area as a hub for their operation, Estrada said. They allegedly used long-haul trucks to move shipments of cocaine from drug kitchens in Colombia to stash houses in Los Angeles and then would ship the cocaine to mostly Canada but also to the East Coast of the U.S., he said.