Overview
- U.S. authorities raised the bounty for Ryan Wedding to US$15 million and say he is believed to be in Mexico, with recent arrests in Canada tied to the Medellín killing of a cooperating witness allegedly ordered by him.
- Wedding, a former Canadian Olympian, was arrested by the FBI in June 2008 during a cross‑border cocaine deal and was convicted in 2009 of conspiring to distribute cocaine.
- He received a four‑year U.S. prison sentence and was released at the end of 2011, according to court records.
- Court testimony describes the use of the hawala system for large cash transfers, including a US$250,000 movement arranged by cooperating witness Hassan Shirani that allegedly went missing.
- Transcripts show supplier Yuri Trofimov was secretly working with the FBI and recorded conversations that helped agents intercept the Canadians in San Diego, and the RCMP later issued a 2015 warrant alleging new smuggling that left Wedding a fugitive.