Ryan Wedding, the former Olympic snowboarder accused of drug trafficking and murder, made his first of what is set to be many federal courtroom appearances in California on Monday.
The 44-year-old Canadian was arrested in Mexico City last week and flown to Southern California nearly a year after he was added to the FBI‘s Most Wanted Fugitives list.
‘He’s a modern-day El Chapo,’ FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday. ‘He is a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice.’
Law enforcement agencies across North and South America contributed to the investigation, Operation Giant Slalom, that federal prosecutors say proves Wedding sits atop a billion-dollar drug ring.
On Monday, he pleaded not guilty to two indictments, and his attorney, Anthony Colombo, disputed reports that he had handed himself in to the FBI. ‘He was arrested,’ Colombo told reporters. ‘He did not surrender.’
The 2002 Olympian was first arrested in 2008 for trying to buy cocaine from a US federal agent. He was convicted of that crime in 2009 and released from prison in 2011. But according to authorities, it wasn’t until after regaining his freedom that Wedding built an international criminal network that prosecutors say moved huge quantities of drugs across the continent.
Pictured: Ryan Wedding in handcuffs after landing in the US following his arrest in Mexico City
Wedding competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics in the parallel giant slalom (pictured)
Wedding is also being accused of ordering a string of murders to protect his alleged criminal enterprise.
In what authorities believe to be a case of mistaken identity, Canadian couple Jagtar and Harbhajan Sidhu were shot dead in front of their 28-year-old daughter, Jaspreet Kaur, who suffered lifelong injuries in the attack.
Then there were the killings of Mohammad Afar, who prosecutors say was murdered over a drug debt, and Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, an alleged collaborator-turned-federal witness who was fatally shot at restaurant in Medellín.
But Wedding is not the only member of his alleged drug ring being named by the feds.
Several remain in Canadian custody awaiting extradition hearings. Others, such as the women described by authorities as his wife and girlfriend, have been barred from entering the US.
In nearly all cases, the accused have yet to enter a plea and therefore remain innocent in the eyes of the law.
The following are some of his alleged co-conspirators, not all of whom have been arrested.
Pictured: Wedding (left) in a courtroom sketch as he made his first court appearance
The US Treasury department detailed much of Wedding’s alleged operation in November
Wedding (top left) was among the last arrests made in Operation Giant Slalom
Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno
A 34-year-old Mexican woman, Castillo Moreno married Wedding during his first stint in a US prison sometime in 2011, according to multiple reports.
Other news outlets claim Wedding married an Iranian-born woman while incarcerated at Texas’ Reeves County Detention Center around the same year. However, when contacted by the Daily Mail, a prison spokesperson denied having any record of Wedding in that facility.
But it’s Castillo Moreno who is identified as as his wife by the Treasury Department, which has sanctioned her over allegations of money laundering.
She has not been arrested as part of Operation Giant Slalom and her whereabouts remain unclear. FBI and Treasury spokespeople have declined to comment on her location to the Daily Mail. Department of Justice spokespeople have not responded to a request for further information.
Castillo Moreno hails from Nuevo Leon in the northwest part of Mexico, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) official sanction list. Mexican media reports claim she previously worked as a hostess for sporting events and regularly shared glamorous pictures on social media accounts that now appear to have been deleted.
It is unclear if she knows Wedding’s alleged girlfriend, Daniela Acuna, or if she and Wedding are now estranged.
Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno (pictured) became involved with Wedding during his stint in federal prison, prosecutors say
Mexican media reports that Moreno (pictured) previously worked as a hostess at sporting events and shared glamorous pictures on social media
Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias
A 23-year-old native of Barranquilla, Colombia, Wedding’s supposed girlfriend has not been arrested. But like his wife, she has been sanctioned by the US Treasury and remains banned from the country.
‘Acuna has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wedding, whom she knew from the beginning of their relationship to live a lifestyle funded by violent narcotics trafficking,’ the department claimed in a statement.
In terms of his supposed operation, the department alleged that ‘she has assisted Wedding in obtaining information on his rivals.’
Acuna is believed to have been introduced to Wedding by a powerful Mexico City madam from Colombia, Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez.
Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias (pictured), Wedding’s supposed girlfriend, is a 23-year-old Colombian native who is also accused of helping in his criminal enterprise. She has not been arrested but does face US sanctions
Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez
According to authorities, Colombian national Valoyes helped Wedding track down Acebedo-Garcia, who was later killed in Colombia.
The 47-year-old, who authorities say is behind a high-end escort service in Mexico City, is believed to have introduced Wedding to Acuna.
Valoyes was among 10 people arrested in November as part of Operation Giant Slalom.
The Daily Mail has reached out to a Department of Justice spokesperson for verification on her whereabouts and the identity of her attorney.
Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez (pictured) was arrested in November. She is accused of helping to orchestrate the murder of an FBI witness on Wedding’s behalf
Deepak Balwant Paradkar
A 62-year-old Canadian criminal barrister who represented Wedding in his 2024 indictment, Paradkar was among 10 arrested in November over alleged ties to his client. He was specifically accused of advising Wedding to murder an FBI witness.
‘[Paradkar] told [Wedding], “If you kill this witness [Acebedo-Garcia], the case would be dismissed,”‘ Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the central district of California, recently told reporters.
Paradkar used aliases such as ‘cocaine lawyer’ and ‘Descartes,’ according to the indictment unsealed in November, and even adopted the social media handle ‘@Cocaine_lawyer’ for a period of time, according to reports.
He also served as a go-between for Wedding and his accomplices, according to the US Treasury Department, which has sanctioned the dual Indian-Canadian citizen.
‘Paradkar introduced Wedding to the drug traffickers that have been moving Wedding’s cocaine,’ a statement from the Treasury Department read.
The Department claims Paradkar let Wedding eavesdrop on privileged discussions with his other clients, ‘several of whom Wedding wished to murder,’ according to the statement.
The Department also claimed that Paradkar was paid with luxury watches and additional fees as a reward.
Paradkar is currently fighting extradition to the US. The Daily Mail has sought comment from his attorney.
Deepak Balwant Paradkar (pictured) is accused of advising Wedding to kill a federal witness
Andrew Clark
Known as ‘El Dictador,’ the 34-year-old Canadian was among 29 alleged or convicted narcotics traffickers extradited to the US from Mexico last year.
He pleaded not guilty to charges that include allegations of drug trafficking and four murders in Ontario, Canada, including the aforementioned Sidhu family killings. The shooter has never been caught in that case.
Clark previously worked as an elevator mechanic and landlord, he told Toronto Life in 2020, but not much is known about how he became involved with Wedding.
Ultimately, Clark was arrested by Mexican law enforcement in 2024. US prosecutors claim that, like Wedding, Clark was living in the country under the protection of the murderous Sinaloa cartel.
Andrew Clark (pictured), 34, was known as ‘El Dictador.’ The Canadian was among 29 alleged or convicted narcotics traffickers extradited to the United States from Mexico last year
Clark (center) was arrested in Mexico and subsequently extradited to the United States
Pictured: Cocaine the DEA claims was seized from Ryan Wedding’s drug operation
Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarad
Vazquez is a Mexican former law enforcement official known as ‘The General,’ according to the US Treasury. He is accused of providing protection for Wedding in Mexico and helping him locate targets.
Vazquez has been sanctioned by the US Treasury.
Rolan Sokolovski
A 37-year-old Canadian who has competed in high-stakes poker tournaments, Sokolovski is accused of moving millions in drug earnings with the help of cryptocurrency deals and the exchange of other high-end assets, like jewelry and watches. Effectively, US authorities claim, Sokolovski served as the organization’s ‘de facto bank,’ through his jewelry business, Diamond Tsar.
Supposedly known by alleged co-conspirators as ‘the Jew,’ Sokolovski was among the 10 arrested in November and is currently fighting extradition to the US.
In December, the US Department of Justice argued that Sokolovski is a flight risk because he has ‘tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars’ of cryptocurrency and jewelry at his disposal.
Sokolovski’s attorney, Scott Fenton, told the Daily Mail they are awaiting an expected February 20 ruling on his bail application. Previously, Fenton argued in Canadian court that Sokolovski has not fled authorities despite having opportunities to do so.
Sokolovski has not entered a plea and is not required to pending extradition rulings. Fenton declined to address the accusations against his client.
‘Mr Sokolovski is declining any commentary in the press regarding the allegations while his extradition matter is before the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario,’ read Fenton’s email to the Daily Mail.
Rolan Sokolovski (pictured) was among 10 others arrested in November and is currently fighting extradition to the United States
Rasheed Pascua Hossain and Bianca Canastillo-Madrid
Both are accused of laundering money for Wedding and his alleged criminal enterprise.
Hossain, a Canadian, and Canastillo-Madrid, a Mexican, remain wanted fugitives.
Gursewak Singh Bal
Bal was the co-founder and co-operator of defunct website The Dirty News, which authorities seized as part of a federal warrant. He is accused of accepting $10,000 from Wedding’s organization to post a photo of Acebedo-Garcia, the FBI witness, ‘so that enterprise members and associates could locate and kill’ him.
According to the indictment, Bal posted a photo of Acebedo-Garcia on Instagram, writing: ‘This guy single handedly [ratted] out one of the strongest underworld networks that this [world] has seen…Good chance he’ll never be found again.’
Bal has not responded to the allegations in court, and like other defendants, faces potential extradition to the United States.
Malik Damion Cunningham
This 23-year-old Canadian resident is accused of carrying out a 2024 murder of a cross-border drug trafficker at Clark’s direction. Police seized ammunition, over $100,000 and four phones after stopping him weeks later, according to the court documents.
US prosecutors claim in their indictment that Clark helped Cunningham to undergo ‘military training’ in Mexico and provided him with a list of targets.
‘I am what you call now ELITE thanks to you brother,’ Cunningham wrote Clark, according to the indictment.
Clark is further accused of providing Cunningham with two Glock handguns and a 2023 Ford Explorer as a getaway vehicle.
Cunningham has been in Canadian custody in Ontario for 13 months and, like Sokolovski, has not been asked to enter a plea as he faces potential extradition to the US.
