What we know about the Canadians busted in an international drug ring led by a former Olympic athlete
CTV
Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished in 24th place in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder wouldn’t go on to improve his results in Torino four years later.
Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished in 24th place in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder wouldn’t go on to improve his results in Torino four years later.
Instead, the FBI alleges that the 43-year-old became the “Boss” of a multi-national drug-trafficking ring that allegedly moved tens of millions of dollars worth of cocaine across four countries and ordered four murders in Canada.
In a 53-page indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice on Oct. 17 and obtained by CTV News Toronto, officials laid out the innerworkings of the alleged operation, which also names nine other Canadians.
The group allegedly trafficked 1,800 kilograms of cocaine, which carries an estimated street value of US$25 million, over several months from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, and into Canada and other parts of the United States using a complex network of dispatchers, drivers, distributors and stash houses.
Here’s what we know about Operation Giant Slalom:
According to his Olympic bio, Wedding was named, but never charged, in a Maple Ridge, BC, search warrant that was investigating an illegal marijuana grow-op in 2006.
Two years after that, he was arrested, and then convicted, for trying to buy cocaine from a U.S. government agent and sentenced to four years in prison.
