By Hannah Rabinowitz and Devon Cole, CNN
A reward poster for the arrest of Ryan James Wedding. Photo: ANDREW HARNIK
Federal officials unveiled additional charges on Wednesday against a former Olympic snowboarder for Canada who has been wanted for allegedly running a drug trafficking ring.
The new charges against Ryan James Wedding include murder, witness tampering, money laundering and drug trafficking, Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a news conference.
The murder charge, Bondi said, stemmed from Wedding's alleged involvement in the slaying of a federal witness in Colombia who was involved in the government's case against him.
"Protecting federal witnesses from retaliation is core to the department's mission. It's about individual safety, but more, it's about protecting the rule of law itself," she said.
Authorities have been searching for more than a year to find Wedding, who is now on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list for allegedly running a drug trafficking ring. Bondi said on Wednesday the State Department had also raised its reward for information that could lead to his arrest from US$10 million to US$15 million (NZ$17.8 million to NZ$26.7 million).
Wedding was initially charged in 2024 charged with several crimes including conspiring to distribute cocaine and murder.
According to US authorities, Wedding's organisation shipped vast amounts of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and into the US and Canada. The group has killed four people, authorities say, including two members of a family in Canada who were mistakenly identified and targeted in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.
Wedding is also facing drug trafficking charges in Canada. He is believed to be in Mexico, authorities have said.
At least a dozen other people have been arrested in the US, Mexico, Columbia and Canada in connection to the case.
-CNN
