Kash Patel says Olympic kingpin Ryan Wedding's capture is latest success in Trump’s crackdown on crime

FBI Director Kash Patel connected Friday touted the agency’s apprehension of Olympian-turned-fugitive kingpin Ryan Wedding, framing the seizure arsenic cardinal to the FBI’s broader crime-fighting occurrence nether President Donald Trump.

Patel confirmed that Wedding, 44, was taken into custody Thursday nighttime successful Mexico arsenic portion of a multi-agency cognition involving Mexican authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The FBI announced Friday that they had captured erstwhile Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding aft a monthslong manhunt. (FBI)

Wedding marked the sixth fugitive connected the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted database captured nether Patel’s tenure. 

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"To enactment that successful perspective, that's 2 much than the entirety of the anterior administration, and nary of this would beryllium imaginable without the tremendous enactment of Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice and our partners and prosecutors astatine the United States Attorney's Office present successful L.A. and our Los Angeles tract office."

Wedding, 44, was placed connected the FBI Ten Most Wanted database successful March 2025 and is accused of moving a transnational cause trafficking web that "routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, done Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and different locations successful the United States," according to the FBI. 

He is besides accused of orchestrating aggregate murders and attempted execution arsenic portion of his cause trafficking operation. 

"Just to archer you however atrocious of a feline Ryan Wedding is, helium went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco trafficker successful modern times," Patel said astatine a quality league connected the tarmac of Ontario International Airport connected Friday. "He's a modern-day El Chapo. He is simply a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and helium thought helium could evade justice."

Ryan Wedding, wanted by the FBI, was seen taking a signifier tally for the men's parallel elephantine slalom of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games successful Park City, Feb. 13, 2002. (FBI | REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell)

WANTED EX-OLYMPIAN RYAN WEDDING CAPTURED IN MEXICO, FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL FLIES HIM BACK TO US

"This idiosyncratic and his enactment and the Sinaloa Cartel poured narcotics into the streets of North America and killed excessively galore of our younker and corrupted excessively galore of our citizens. And that ends today." 

Patel called 2025 a "historic year" for the FBI, noting that the bureau has made 67,000 arrests this twelvemonth unsocial – a 200% summation from erstwhile years. 

"The FBI has captured six of the Top Ten Most [Wanted] fugitives connected our board. The FBI has besides seized capable fentanyl to termination 150 cardinal Americans, a 31% increase. The FBI has arrested 35% much espionage corrupt actors from China, Russia, the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Iran. The FBI has recovered and identified 6,000 children that were missing. That is up 22%.  All of these historical grounds breaking numbers pb to different historical record-breaking fig brought to you by President Trump's leadership. That is simply a 20% diminution successful the execution complaint successful the United States of America."

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a quality league astir the apprehension of erstwhile Olympian Ryan Wedding connected multinational cause trafficking charges. The quality league took spot successful Ontario, California, connected Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Amy Taxin/AP Photo)

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 FBI Assistant Director successful Charge Akil Davis said 36 individuals person already been arrested successful transportation with Wedding’s alleged transgression ring. He noted that millions successful motorcycles, jewelry, and invaluable artwork belonging to Wedding were besides seized by authorities successful summation to drugs, cash, and weapons.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell added that arsenic portion of their efforts to apprehend Wedding, "more than 20,300 kilograms of cocaine, 44 kilograms of methamphetamine, 44 kilograms of fentanyl, 8 firearms, and implicit $55 cardinal successful illicit assets" were seized by the department.

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Patel said the indictment starring to Wedding’s seizure stems from the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office, which volition person jurisdiction implicit his case. Davis said that Wedding is expected to look successful tribunal connected Monday. 

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