Fugitive narco ex-Olympian ‘linked to Kinahans' has plastic surgery to evade cops
The FBI's Wanted poster for Wedding in Spanish
Wedding as an athlete and (right) on the run
A wanted Olympic athlete-turned-narco trafficker 'with links to the Kinahans' is suspected of having plastic surgery in Mexico in a bid to evade capture.
It has been reported that the FBI in Los Angeles believes Ryan Wedding, who has a $10 million US bounty on his head, has spent his time on the run changing his appearance.
A major manhunt is underway for the former Olympian snowboarder, who may have gone under the knife to hide his identity.
"Investigators believe Wedding may have undergone plastic surgery, particularly since he has financial means," Laura Eimiller, the spokeswoman for the LA FBI field office, told Los Angeles Magazine. "It's not uncommon for high-profile fugitives."
The bureau added Wedding, who is also connected with the deadly El Chapo cartel, to its 10 Most Wanted list in March while also making public the US State Department's staggering award offer.
Wedding as an athlete and (right) on the run
News in 90 Seconds - August 14th
It was made just days after one of Wedding's right-hand men was linked to the Kinahan Cartel in documents filed by US attorneys in a Canadian court.
Like Wedding, the US government are also offering a reward for the arrest of the Kinahans – with $5m bounty available for information on Christy snr and his two sons Daniel and Christy jnr.
Ex-Canadian snowboarder Wedding (43) whose aliases include 'El Jefe" and "the Giant," is accused of running a violent international cocaine trafficking ring that moved 60 tons of cocaine a year from Colombia through Mexico and California to Canada.
Federal prosecutors in California's Central District have called his murderous empire one of the 'most sophisticated drug trafficking networks in North America."
Before turning to crime, Wedding was a well-known figure in winter sports and had competed in the Parallel Giant Slalom in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics where had finished in 24th place.
The FBI's Wanted poster for Wedding in Spanish
The FBI is focusing its worldwide manhunt for Wedding in Mexico where it released new 'Most Wanted' posters in Spanish last week.
In October 2024, Andrew Clark, a top lieutenant in the massive drug operation and Wedding's reputed right-hand man, was captured near Mexico City a dramatic armed takedown by the Mexican military and Interpol.
Clark was extradited to Los Angeles earlier this year and remains in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center.
According to Los Angeles Magazine, investigators fear Wedding could kill witnesses while he remains on the loose.
'Prosecutors told a federal judge how Wedding is tied to some of the world's most dangerous co-conspirators, including Hezbollah, ex-KGB agents, Hells Angeles and vicious killers tied to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who was found guilty in the US on charges related to his own murderous network,' Los Angles Magazine reports.
The capture of Wedding's right-hand man Andrew Clark
The government was asking the judge for a protective order in the case to protect its witnesses, warning that anyone caught up in "Operation Giant Slalom" who agrees to cut a deal could be in danger.
Assistant Director of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office Akil Davis said Wedding was a 'very dangerous man.'
'Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,'.
'The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man."
Wedding has been on the run since he was charged with US officials along with 15 of his key associates last June.
During previous bail hearing for one of his alleged gang members, Gurpreet Singh, the Kinahan Cartel were named in a document from federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and filed as evidence in Superior Court in Toronto.
US officials told the court that Singh has "extensive organized crime connections within Dubai, including relationships with members of the Kinahan gang, which is a well-known, violent organized crime group operating throughout the world."
In the document, assistant US attorneys Maria Jhai and Lyndsi Allsop also claimed Wedding continues to be involved in cocaine smuggling while on the run.
"Investigators are aware that Wedding continues to traffic drugs while in hiding.
"Wedding should not be granted access to an additional loyalist through the release of Singh on bail."
Wedding
Last year, shockwaves were sent through the sports world after a warrant was issued for Canadian snowboarder Wedding (43) for allegedly smuggling tons of cocaine into the US through Mexico.
Wedding's fall from grace has been big news in the US with extensive profiles on his life of crime being carried in all major newspapers and TV stations.
Just like the Kinahans, Wedding has links to some of the world's most infamous drugs cartels and terrorist organisations.
They include ex-Russian KGB agents, Hezbollah and the Sinaloa Cartel.
A wanted poster for the Kinahans
Wedding is said to have had connections to elite Iranian money launderers in Vancouver who have ties to Columbian cartels.
Last June, a US grand jury indictment charged Wedding with numerous felonies related to cocaine smuggling.
Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Los Angeles division, claimed Wedding's gang were responsible for a wave of crimes.
'They have triggered an avalanche of violent crimes, including brutal murders.
'Wedding, the Olympian snowboarder, went from navigating slopes to contouring a life of incessant crimes.'
US officials also directly tied Wedding and his second-in-command, Andrew Clark, to a number of gangland hits.
'Wedding and Clark allegedly directed the November 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment,' the U.S. Attorney's Office has claimed.
Another person was killed in May over an unpaid debt, on Wedding and Clark's orders, it is claimed.
The trial for Wedding's associates is currently scheduled to begin in a Little Tokyo courtroom in February 2026, according to a court docket.
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