Wedding is wanted for his alleged involvement in shipping large quantities of cocaine from Colombia to Canada and the US, passing through Mexico and Southern California. He is also accused of arranging multiple murders and an attempted murder to further his drug-related activities.
The US government is offering up to $10 million (£7.7m) for information that leads to Wedding’s arrest or conviction.
While it’s thought he might be living in Mexico, authorities have not ruled out the possibility of him being in the US, Canada, or other Latin American countries.
Wedding represented Canada in the Giant Slalom snowboarding event during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
He is known under several aliases, including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King,” according to the FBI.
In June 2024, Wedding and his alleged accomplice, Andrew Clark, a 34-year-old Canadian, were charged in California with running a criminal enterprise, murder in connection with that enterprise, and various drug offenses, along with conspiracy to possess, distribute, and export cocaine.
Clark was arrested by Mexican authorities in October and was among 29 fugitives extradited from Mexico to the US last week.
The US indictment states that Wedding and Clark are accused of directing the murders of two family members in Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that went through Southern California. A surviving family member suffered significant physical injuries.
They are also accused of ordering the murder of another individual on May 18, 2024, due to a drug debt.
“The alleged murders of his competitors indicate that Wedding is a dangerous individual. His placement on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, along with a substantial reward from the State Department, will involve the public in efforts to apprehend him before he endangers anyone else,” stated Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, in a press release on Thursday.
