TV host David Muir told his ABC viewers that the FBI has issued a new photo of fugitive Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympian snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin
ABC viewers have been left fuming over a news story about Ryan Wedding, who is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Last night, David Muir revealed that authorities have released a new photos of the former Canadian Olympian snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin – and the reward for his capture now stands at $15 million. Showing the new photo on the screen, the TV host, 52, said, “This evening, the former Olympian, who is now an FBI fugitive.
“The FBI releasing a new photo tonight of the alleged drug trafficker and former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding. The FBI believes this selfie of him in bed with a tattoo of a lion on his chest was taken in Mexico over the summer.”
David added, “The reward for his capture is now $15 million.” The reward was previously $10 million. After the ABC World News Tonight report was shared on Instagram, many viewers shared their thoughts in the comment section.
One wrote, “What’s the point of trying to find and arrest him? When Trump is going to pardon him after anyways.” Another asked, “Why not get the real drug offenders?”
“Yall mad at him…and trump just pardoned a smuggler,” someone else said. One commented, “No reward to find the person responsible for taking out Epstein. Also, 15 million for a drug smuggler? Seems a bit much…”
“All that’s gonna happen is a pardon from Trump,” one more said. The newly obtained photo of Wedding was released by the FBI on Monday.
As stated by the FBI, Wedding is wanted for “allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and other locations in the United States.” He is also wanted for “orchestrating multiple murders and an attempted murder in furtherance of these drug crimes,” the FBI said.
He was added to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list earlier this year, Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office announced in March. Wedding’s aliases include El Jefe, Giant, Public Enemy, James Conrad King and Jesse King. Davis said, “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, and his addition to the list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, coupled with a major reward offer by the State Department, will make the public our partner so that we can catch up with him before he puts anyone else in danger.” Wedding is believed to be living in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel, whom authorities say he’s working with closely to funnel massive quantities of drugs into Canada and the US.
Last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wedding is now facing additional charges in connection with the killing of a federal witness. She said, “Whether you are a street-level drug dealer … or an international drug kingpin, we are coming for you. We will find you and you will be accountable and held to justice for your crimes.”
Wedding was charged in 2024 with running a drug ring that moves some 60 tons of cocaine a year using long-haul semi trucks to bring the drugs between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada. Authorities say Wedding and his co-conspirators used a Canadian website called “the Dirty News” to post a photograph of the witness so he could be identified and killed. The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medellín in January and shot in the head.
“Wedding placed the bounty on the victim’s head, and the erroneous belief that the victim’s death would result in the dismissal of criminal charges against him and his international drug trafficking ring, and would further ensure that he was not extradited to the United States. He was wrong,”said Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor for the Central District of California. The US government is also offering rewards of up to $2 million for others involved in the killing of the witness.
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