On Monday, January 26, Ryan James Wedding pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance in Orange County before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Early. The appearance in federal court was brief. He answered “not guilty” to the two federal indictments, which contain more than a dozen felony charges against him.
The charges Ryan Wedding faces are related to allegations that he ran a billion-dollar drug trafficking ring and orchestrated multiple killings of potential witnesses. These are very serious charges that could put him in prison for life.
There were no cameras in the courtroom and no perp walk due to security concerns, but reporters described Wedding as casual and relaxed, with the demeanor of someone walking into their neighborhood restaurant. Court sketches show him in a tan uniform over an orange shirt. His ankles were chained.
No bond was issued. The judge ordered him held in custody, saying generally that he was a flight risk due to the serious nature of these charges. However, the judge didn’t rule out bond completely. He said he may consider it if Wedding seeks it later.
Wedding Was Arrested in Mexico City
Wedding was apprehended in Mexico City last week after a huge manhunt that spanned decades and multiple countries. Mexico’s security minister, Omar García Harfuch, claimed that Wedding surrendered voluntarily at the US embassy. However, his lawyer contradicted this claim on Monday, saying this was not the case — Wedding didn’t surrender. Instead, he was apprehended and arrested.
There isn’t a lot known about how Wedding was apprehended. Talking to the press, Wedding’s defense attorney said that, while the Mexican government had described him as “hiding out” in Mexico, this could also be described as just “living” in Mexico.
After the arrest, Wedding was flown from Mexico and California. Mexican authorities have recently started sending more detained cartel members to the U.S. in response to Trump’s increased focus on targeting drug trafficking rings south of the border.
He was initially scheduled to appear in court in Los Angeles. However, he was transferred to Santa Ana to appear in court there because of ongoing daily protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) occurring outside of the Los Angeles courthouse.
Here’s What We Know About The Next Steps in The Case
A trial date has been set for March 24 in downtown Los Angeles, and a status conference in the case is scheduled for February 11, as the attorneys prepare. Attorneys for the government said the trial should take about 3 to 4 weeks per indictment. Wedding’s attorney said the case is likely to involve a large amount of evidence, and it’s likely that the March trial date will be pushed out.
Wedding’s defense attorney is Anthony Colombo. While he’s no relation to Lieutenant Columbo on the much-adored TV show that ran from 1971-1998, Anthony Colombo is the grandson of Joe Colombo — the long reigning boss of the New York City crime family of the same name. He’s also the son of Anthony Colombo, a civil rights activist who famously threatened to picket the filming of “The Godfather” if it used the term “Mafia,” which he saw a being demeaning to Italian Americans.
From an Olympian to Accused Kingpin and Killer
Canadian Ryan Wedding was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. His grandparents owned Mount Baldy ski resort, and he grew up in a skiing family. He’s a former Olympic snowboarder who competed for Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. In the Winter Olympics, he competed in the men’s parallel giant slalom event, in which two snowboarders compete head-to-head down identical courses at high speeds. He finished 24th and retired from competitive snowboarding afterward.
Wedding first came into the radar of U.S. and Canadian investigators nearly 20 years ago and has a prior U.S. conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced in 2010 and released from federal prison in 2011. Authorities allege that he built his criminal drug trafficking operation and became a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel after being released.
He’s alleged to have moved more than 60 tons of cocaine a year from South America into California from Canada using a network of semitrucks. He’s also accused of ordering the killing of a key federal witness against him, as well as several other murders, including the murder of a Canadian couple who were killed following a stolen shipment and a murder related to an unpaid drug debt in 2024.
Operation Giant Slalom and the FBI’s Most Wanted List
For the last decade, Wedding has been on the run in Mexico City. He was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list with a reward of up to $15 million. He was also wanted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and FBI Director, Kash Patel, called Wedding "the largest narco-trafficker in modern times,” according to an article in The Guardian.
Since 2023, the RCMP and the FBI have been collaborating on a large-scale law enforcement action known as “Operation Giant Slalom.” As part of the operation, Wedding was indicted in 2024 on federal charges that included running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiring to distribute cocaine and other drug crimes. In Canada, Wedding faces separate drug charges dating back to 2015.
How’s he doing now that he’s been caught? Defense Attorney Colombo says that Wedding is in good spirits, adding that as a former Olympic athlete, he has a lot of mental toughness.
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