Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder, stood in a federal courtroom in California on Monday, facing serious charges that shocked the sports world. Wedding, now 44, is accused of running a massive drug network and ordering multiple murders, according to US authorities. Wedding was arrested last week in Mexico City and flown to Southern California, nearly a year after the FBI placed him on its Most Wanted Fugitives list. He pleaded not guilty to two federal indictments during his first court appearance. His lawyer, Anthony Colombo, strongly denied reports that Wedding turned himself in.“He was arrested,” Colombo told reporters. “He did not surrender.”FBI Director Kash Patel described Wedding as a major threat. “He is a modern-day El Chapo,” Patel said Friday. “He is a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice.” Federal prosecutors claim Ryan Wedding led a billion-dollar drug operation uncovered during a joint investigation called Operation Giant Slalom. Law enforcement agencies from North and South America worked together on the case, according to the US Department of Justice.Wedding’s criminal history goes back years. In 2008, he was arrested for trying to buy cocaine from a US federal agent. He was convicted in 2009 and released from prison in 2011. Authorities say his alleged criminal empire grew rapidly after his release. Prosecutors also accuse Wedding of ordering murders to protect his operation. Among the victims were Canadian couple Jagtar Sidhu and Harbhajan Sidhu, who were killed in front of their daughter, Jaspreet Kaur, who suffered life-changing injuries. Authorities still think it was a case of mistaken identity.
Ryan Wedding and the people accused of helping his global drug network
Federal officials say Ryan Wedding did not work alone. Several people linked to him are now under investigation, arrested, or facing extradition. Wedding’s wife, Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno, has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department over alleged money laundering. She has not been arrested, and her current location is unknown, according to Treasury and FBI officials. Castillo Moreno is originally from Nuevo Leon, Mexico, based on the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list.His alleged girlfriend, Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias, has also been sanctioned and banned from entering the United States. The Treasury Department said she received large sums of money from Wedding and helped gather information on his rivals.Authorities say Acuna was introduced to Wedding by Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez, a Colombian national accused of running a high-end escort service in Mexico City. Valoyes was arrested in November as part of Operation Giant Slalom, according to federal records.Another key figure is Deepak Balwant Paradkar, a Canadian criminal lawyer accused of advising Wedding to kill an FBI witness. “If you kill this witness, the case would be dismissed,” Paradkar allegedly told Wedding, according to Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California. Paradkar denies the claims and is fighting extradition.Andrew Clark, known as “El Dictador,” is also accused of working closely with Wedding. US prosecutors say Clark helped order murders in Canada and lived in Mexico under cartel protection. All accused individuals have not entered final pleas and remain innocent under the law, according to court records and the US Department of Justice.
