Record Toronto-area drug bust may be linked to fugitive ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding
A recent record-setting $50-million cocaine seizure by police in the Toronto area may be linked to former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged crime boss Ryan Wedding, according to a CBC News investigation.
Peel Regional Police announced last week that they had made the biggest cocaine bust in the agency’s history after uncovering a criminal network using commercial trucking routes to transport drugs across the U.S. border into Canada. The smuggling routes identified by police are similar to those associated with the drug ring allegedly led by Wedding, who is among the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives.
Peel police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich stated that there is a high likelihood that the drug trafficking organization connected to Wedding is still active in the suburban area west of Toronto, which serves as a key logistics hub for central Canada. Wedding, who represented Canada as a snowboarder at the 2002 Olympic Games in Utah, is believed to be residing in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel.
Last year, Wedding was one of 16 men charged in a U.S. federal indictment aimed at dismantling the “Wedding Drug Trafficking Organization.” U.S. prosecutors have alleged that Wedding’s network utilized semi trucks to transport drugs across North America. Two individuals arrested in Toronto last fall, Hardeep Ratte and Gurpreet Singh, are accused of coordinating cocaine shipments to Canada for a flat rate of $220,000 each and are currently in custody facing extradition to the U.S.
Wedding’s top associate, Andrew Clark, was apprehended in Mexico and transferred to U.S. custody. Despite these arrests, U.S. prosecutors have stated that Wedding, now 43, is still involved in drug trafficking while in hiding and has access to a network of hitmen. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has confirmed that elements of Wedding’s network remain active in Canada.
The recent drug seizures in Peel Region included a total of 479 kilograms of cocaine, valued at $47.9 million on the street, along with two loaded handguns. Nine individuals were arrested and charged with various firearm and drug offenses. The investigation, dubbed Project Pelican, involves the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations.
The drug seizures in Peel Region come amidst a surge of 6,000 kilograms of cocaine entering Canada since last fall, as reported by the Ontario Provincial Police. The State Department is offering a $10-million US reward for information leading to Wedding’s arrest or conviction. F. Cartwright Weiland, from the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, has stated that tips about Wedding’s whereabouts are being received regularly, and he issued a message to Wedding that he is next in line to be apprehended.
For any news tips related to this story, you can contact CBC News senior reporter Thomas Daigle via email: thomas.daigle@cbc.ca.
