Mexican authorities said they had seized motorcycles, Olympic medals and drugs in a series of raids that appear to be linked to the search for Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding.

The raid is the largest official operation ever publicly launched by Mexico in pursuit of the man who is said to have links to drug cartels.

The government statement did not name Wedding, but said the target was a former foreign Olympic athlete who is on the US fugitives list. The only person who fits that description is Ryan Wedding, a Thunder Bay, Ont., snowboarder who competed in the 2002 Utah Olympics. Mexican media have also named him as the target.

Details of the operation

Four properties in Mexico City and a neighboring state were searched by several agencies, including the Navy, the National Guard and federal agents from the Office of the Attorney General (FGR).

The items seized included:

62 luxury motorcycles

Two cars

Two Olympic medals

Methamphetamine and marijuana

Artwork, ammunition and documents

It is not yet clear who the medals belonged to. Wedding finished 24th in the giant slalom at the 2002 Olympics and did not return to the Olympics.

Drug and murder charges

U.S. authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have said that Wedding turned to criminal activity after the Olympics, building a billion-dollar drug trafficking empire linked to dozens of murders. He is believed to be hiding in Mexico.

The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest.

US Efforts and Recent Moves

The US Treasury Department has said that Wedding used luxury cars and motorcycles, real estate, shell companies and cryptocurrency to hide his wealth.
Last month, the FBI seized a rare Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Roadster in Miami worth an estimated $13 million, which the US said was purchased by one of Wedding’s main money launderers.
The FBI has also been trying to gather information about Wedding’s hideout through a social media campaign in the Mexico City suburbs.
Change of appearance and connections

A background check shows that Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias, Wedding’s Colombian girlfriend, lives in the area. Wedding met with his alleged right-hand man, Andrew Clark, and Jonathan Asbedo-Garcia, a former drug trafficker and FBI witness, in a Mexico City coffee shop in January 2024.

A year later, Asbedo-Garcia was murdered in Colombia, a killing that U.S. authorities say was orchestrated by Wedding.

This week, an Ontario court granted bail to Deepak Paredkar, a Toronto-area defense lawyer who allegedly advised Wedding on the murder; Paredkar has denied the charges.

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