A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and 15 other individuals are facing charges in a 16-count indictment. They are accused of operating a transnational cocaine trafficking operation that spanned from Colombia to Canada and the U.S. This announcement was made by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Ryan James Wedding, a 43-year-old Canadian citizen living in Mexico, and Andrew Clark, a 34-year-old Canadian citizen residing in Mexico, faced charges of operating a persistent criminal organization, murder, and conspiring to possess, distribute, and export cocaine, according to the department.
Mexican law enforcement arrested Clark on October 8th, and he is currently in custody. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has confirmed that Wedding is a fugitive.
The indictment, which has recently been made public, includes the names of 14 more individuals who are accused of being involved in a conspiracy. This conspiracy allegedly revolves around the transportation of large amounts of cocaine from Southern California to Canada. The transportation network that facilitated this illicit activity is said to be based in Ontario, Canada.
According to federal prosecutors, Hardeep Ratte, 45, and Gurpreet Singh, 30, both from Ontario, allegedly ran the network involved in trafficking. The trafficking activities took place from January 2024 to August 2024.
The Department of Justice stated that the organization transported the cocaine shipments from Mexico to Los Angeles. The drugs were stored in stash houses before being transferred to couriers for transportation to Canada via semi-trucks.
Wedding and Clark allegedly ordered multiple murders to safeguard the drug operation, according to the indictment.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has also revealed that Wedding and Clark are said to have orchestrated the murder of an individual on May 18, 2024, over an outstanding drug debt. Additionally, Clark and Malik Damion Cunningham, 23, have been accused of another separate murder that took place on April 1, 2024.
Wedding, a former competitor in the 2002 Winter Olympics, faces a total of eight felony charges. These include conspiracy to distribute and export cocaine, leading a criminal enterprise, and several counts of murder. Known by various aliases such as “El Jefe” and “Giant,” Wedding finds himself entangled in a web of serious allegations.
Clark, who is also referred to as “The Dictator,” is facing the same charges as mentioned earlier, with an added murder count, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
United States Attorney Martin Estrada expressed that the indictment accuses a former Olympic athlete, who has now become a drug lord, of being the leader of a transnational organized crime group. This group is involved in various illegal activities such as cocaine trafficking and murder, including the killing of innocent civilians.
According to the indictment, the organization made an attempt to transport around 1,800 kilograms (1.8 metric tons) of cocaine, with an estimated value ranging between $23.4 and $25.2 million, to Los Angeles.
