Front Burner - The hunt for alleged cocaine kingpin Ryan Wedding

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

At a press conference last week U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi laid out fresh allegations against Ryan Wedding, a 44-year-old Canadian and former Olympian who has been on the FBI’s most wanted list since March.Wedding is already accused of orchestrating multiple murders, and these new charges add to the drug and conspiracy allegations he’s facing.We speak to Calvi Leon, a reporter at the Toronto Star who’s been covering this case extensively.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

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have the trusted expertise in solutions you and your customers deserve. Contact your dedicated underwriter today for simple to complex and everything in between. Intact Insurance. This is a CBC podcast. Hey everybody. I'm Jamie Poisson. is one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in this world.

He is currently the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada. So this is U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at a press conference last week, and she is laying out the allegations against a 44-year-old Canadian guy named Ryan Wedding. He's been on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list since March. Make no mistake about it. Ryan Wedding is a modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar. He's a modern-day iteration of El Chapo Guzman. At this presser, Bondi announced new charges, which add to the multiple drug and conspiracy

allegations Wedding is wanted for, as well as orchestrating murder. The U.S. also up the reward for info that could lead to his arrest to $15 million. This is a crazy story that you may already know something about, Wedding was at one time an Olympic snowboarder who competed for Canada in the 2002 Olympics. He grew up in Thunder Bay, and now he is a fugitive being compared to one of the most notorious drug traffickers of the modern era, with an alleged operation worth a billion dollars a year. Calvi Leon is on the show today. Calvi is a reporter at the Toronto Star has been covering this case extensively. Calvi, hey, it's great to have you.

Hey, thanks for having me, Jamie. Let's start with the origin story, shall we? Ryan Wedding grew up, as I mentioned, in Thunder Bay, then moved to Vancouver, as I understand it. He was obviously this very good snowboarder. And how did people who knew him from his earlier years remember him? How do they describe him? Yeah, I mean, speaking to some of his former friends, they describe him as somebody who's confident, carefree, somewhat self-involved at times. he spent most of his weekends at his grandparents ski hill in Thunder Bay and then at around age nine is when he moved from Thunder Bay to Coquitlam in British Columbia just outside of Vancouver.

Yeah and he makes it to the 2002 Olympics though am I right to say that his showing was a bit disappointing. Like he didn't medal. Though this would be his only time competing on the world's biggest stage, failing to qualify for the next round within years. And then he goes on to Simon Fraser University for a few years. And based on

your reporting, where did his first foray into the drug world allegedly begin here? His criminal record dates back to just a couple years after his Olympic debut. So in 2006, he was named on a search warrant for a property in British Columbia that was suspected of conducting a massive illegal marijuana grow up. So when the RCP actually raided that property, they found a mix of dried cannabis and plants worth about $10 million. But he was never charged in that bust, right? No, he was not. And then two years after that, he gets mixed up in a scheme to smuggle some like 24

kilograms of cocaine into Canada via San Diego, right? And so tell me about what happens here. Yeah, so 2009 is like when we get the first sort of glimpse of a guy who's involved in international drug trafficking. So he had partnered with another Canadian to smuggle 24 kilos of cocaine into Canada. He flew from Vancouver to California to meet a seller, who was a former KGB agent actually working as an informant for authorities. So Wedding and these two other guys actually went to purchase cocaine from this informant, but were arrested during the transaction. What really struck me in the reporting here was that, you know, in this whole bust, the other.

other guy involved pleaded guilty, right? But wedding, he pleads not guilty. And he stands trial in 2009. And what kind of picture did we get of him and his defense in this trial? Yeah. I mean, as you mentioned, he pleaded not guilty. The defense sort of painted this picture of him being the fall guy of somebody who was a bit player in the grander scheme to smuggle cocaine into Canada. But the other guy, the one who pleaded guilty, painted him as a ringleader, right? Exactly. Yeah. The other guy said that he was actually the mastermind of the entire scheme. Right. And he actually is convicted, right? Yes. At the end, he is convicted of the lesser charge of conspiracy to just be a cocaine. You know, during the case, during the trial, he actually

presented himself as somebody who still was an athlete, somebody who volunteered his time, who was working hard, who was going to go back and complete his degree. You know, he said to the judge, what he did was completely out of character for him. Court records we obtained show wedding later told a judge, I've had an opportunity to see firsthand what drugs do to people. And honestly, I'm ashamed that I became part of the problem. The judge actually imposed a four-year sentence, which was lower than what he initially intended. He spends that time in San Diego, right? in a prison in San Diego, and then he's transferred also to the Reeves County Detention Complex in Texas, the largest for-profit prison in the world.

And just briefly describe for me what we know about his experience in prison. As I understand it, this is kind of important to understand. Absolutely. You know, speaking to law enforcement sources, people who knew Ryan Wedding directly from this case at the time, they say that, you know, these two. prisons sort of act as a hub for traffickers. In San Diego, the facility's proximity to Mexico makes the correctional center a hub for criminals convicted of drug trafficking. So you've got people from all over Mexico and Central America that are getting caught at the border and ending up here. Yeah, I've heard people frame this as like a networking opportunity for someone like Ryan Wedding. Maybe a bit of a sidebar. He gets married at prison too, hey? Yeah. So that's when he ends up moving over to facility in Texas. So he served his time there as well. And then he actually gets married to a Canadian

entrepreneur in 2011 in prison, which is just an interesting little tidbit. Yeah. Okay. So gets out of prison in the United States and he gets deported to Canada in December of 2011 and he settles in Montreal. And what do we know about where he goes next? Yeah. So I mean, as you mentioned, like he just gets out of prison, which is like this area where he's able to network and foster these connections that would later help him. So it's not long after that he's actually named in a RCMP investigation that uncovered several plots to smuggle cocaine into Canada. And so Wenning and several other Canadians are facing charges in this investigation. It's a massive sting that involves people living in several different countries with an estimated 15 tons of cocaine worth

at least $750 million. Okay. And so this is Operation Harrington, right? Correct. Yes. So what's interesting is that in court records, they actually suggest that Wedding was a senior partner in this conspiracy, that he was allegedly working with men directly tied to El Chapo. So in one meeting, a Montreal trafficker actually introduced him as the man in charge to an undercover police officer. And then Wedding ultimately was charged with conspiracy to import and traffic cocaine. But when the RC&P showed up to arrest him in Montreal, he was already gone. So he's believed to have fled the country, and he's actually been on the run ever since then. And the theory is that he is probably in Mexico. The FBI have said that he's extremely violent and he's extremely

wealthy. He's being protected by the Sinaloa cartel along with others in the country of Mexico. Do we know whether or not there's a relationship between Wedding and El Chapo himself? In my reporting, I haven't seen anything directly that ties wedding to El Chapo, but what I have seen is that it ties him to El Chapo's associates. So, yes, we know that, you know, there were connections in this world that were being made as early as 2015. As an insurance broker, your customers count on you. simple turnkey business quote to the highly complicated unique risks that require tenured experience and knowledge to hash out. You need a partner whose appetite and capacity for commercial insurance

is bigger than you think. Our in-house experts work with you to curate the perfect policy. Simple or complex, at intact insurance, we have the comprehensive commercial solution you need. From manufacturing to contractors, liability to commercial fleet. We have the trusted expertise in solutions you and your customers. deserve. Contact your dedicated underwriter today for simple to complex and everything in between. Intact insurance. This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often. You've got to be an underdog that always over delivers. You've got to be 6,500 hospital staff, 1,000 doctors

all doing so much with so little. You've got to be Scarborough. Defined by our other uphill battle and always striving towards new heights. And you can help us keep climbing. Donate at lovescarborough.ca.com. Okay, so he goes in the lamb in 2015. He escapes Canada. He's a wanted man. And the FBI and other law enforcement agencies say that he continues to be heavily involved in the drug trade, I guess, ostensibly. or they think from Mexico, right? And so how? Yeah, I mean, the next time we hear his name come up is at a press conference in October 24

when the FBI, the RC&P, and other authorities accuse Brian Wedding of being the leader, the mastermind of a massive international drug trafficking organization that is smuggling tons and tons of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico through Southern California into Canada. they also accuse him and another Canadian of ordering assassinations all over the world on rivals or enemies of this organization. Mexican troops moved in on a restaurant in Guadalajara, arresting a Canadian facing murder charges

for violent killings in Ontario. Andrew Clark is named in a U.S. indictment as the right-hand man of former Olympian-turned-fugitive Ryan Wedding. Okay, let's talk about the alleged murders because law enforcement is painting this wildly uh violent picture here this group was ruthless and violent they would use contract killers to assassinate anyone who they saw as an obstacle to their operation all of these victims were intentionally shot execution style so that their loved ones could see them murdered and just tell me more about what they allege happened some of what

they alleged happened and like here on Canadian soil and in other places around the world? Yeah. So American authorities alleged that wedding and his right-hand man, Andrew Clark, ordered hits on multiple people around the world, but specifically here in Ontario, four different cases. So they, one of those, one of those cases was a shooting that happened in Caledon in November 2023, a shooting that I covered extensively. that has kind of led me to where I am today. So in that case, it was an Indian couple who were killed after a gunman stormed their kids' rental home on the Brampton-Calden border and shot them multiple times as well as their daughter.

Many shots were fired inside this home on Mayfield Road. It all happened just before midnight, and police now say they are searching for multiple suspects. Their daughter was shot 13 times and survived. She's the only survivor of that shooting. I still have to learn sitting, standing, walking. It's been very hard. And so in that case, you know, at the time, police eventually would reveal that it was a case of mistaken identity,

but they didn't connect Wedding to him until that October 24 press conference. And they said that Wedding had ordered the hits on that family, thinking that it was the family of somebody else who stole drugs from his operation. This family was mistakenly targeted in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. Okay. And there are other alleged hits, right? Yeah. So then we also know of a case in Niagara Falls, a man who was killed there, and a case in Brampton where another man was killed in retaliation for stolen drugs. And we also hear about this hitman that the police arrest. And just can you tell me more about him and his alleged connection?

Yeah. I mean, so the alleged hitman you're referring to is Malie Cunningham. He's a 24-year-old man from Toronto. So Cunningham's accused of actually going to Niagara Falls and killing this person, Randy Fader, in the driveway of his home. So after the murder, Cunningham gets away. He evades capture and he manages to escape. But two weeks later, at a funeral for a homicide victim that's unrelated to this case, police with an entirely different jurisdiction, York Regional Police pull over Cunningham's car because the license plate appeared to be fraudulent and they arrested him. And then during the arrest, Cunningham supposedly asked an officer to retrieve a dollar in a bag in the car. And then when the officer goes to the car, he actually notices an unusual large quantity of cash in this bag. That's when they apply for another arrest warrant and they find a white iPhone, among other cell phones.

This white iPhone is key because they would later seize the white iPhone and find hundreds and hundreds of text messages from encrypted group chats connecting Cunningham to the murder scene and to Wedding and Clark. And so that, by chance, is how they were able to uncover all of this evidence against Cunningham and Wedding in the Park. Okay, so we've got this information about Cunningham, which has not been proven in court. And now I want to introduce another character into the mix here. is a Canadian, a Colombian-Canadian guy named Jonathan Acevedo Garcia. And can you tell me who he was in his alleged connections and rule with wedding? Jonathan, who's born in Montreal, actually worked with wedding for more than a decade. The two of them actually met in that Texas prison where wedding was serving his first sentence for that drug offense.

Jonathan actually agreed to work with the FBI in late 2023. So he was key to the case. He flew around the world to conduct meetings with weddings alleged guys. he recorded conversations and obtained encrypted messages for investigators. So his cooperation really threatened to bring wedding down. And then by the summer of 2024, authorities actually had enough evidence to charge wedding and several other Canadians. And then in the fall of that year, that is when they would announce the results of the probe.

Right. And just tell me a little bit more about that. And then what ends up happening to Jonathan Asabeto Garcia? Yeah. So Atrobedo Garcia was obviously crucial to. the case. He was also set to testify at trial. And then earlier this year, Jonathan was actually assassinated in Medellin, Colombia at a restaurant. So obviously, his death through the future of the case into a large question mark, really. I mean, it's clear from court records that authorities relied heavily on Echabeto Garcia to obtain evidence that would be used at trial. And so when he was killed, you know, the big question that came to mind was, what does this mean for the

prosecution? How is this going to affect the case? What's the future of the case going to be? Another question that, you know, is still unanswered to date is, was Atrobedo Garcia in any witness protection? So since his death, prosecutors have postponed a trial in California, and they've actually revised records of the case that they plan to use at future trials because of Jonathan's death. And then another twist in this whole thing is that there are all of these arrests that happened last week, which we're going to get to, but one of the people arrested is this high-profile Canadian lawyer, a guy named Deepak Paradkar, and he is now facing extradition to the U.S. and the FBI is essentially alleging that he, like, advised this hit

in Medell. Yeah. His lawyer advised him to kill this witness. His lawyer told him, if you kill this witness, the case would be dismissed. That lawyer is now in custody, and he'll be extradited. The Allegations are truly explosive and have absolutely rocked legal circles in the GTA. It's very surreal, having somebody you know, facing these allegations. Cradicar is a well-known defense lawyer in the GTA. You know, at one point he was nicknamed Napoleon for his tough courtroom tactics. Deepak Parod Corps, who previously went by the handle cocaine lawyer on social media, now faces charges linked to a massive criminal operation that smuggles cocaine.

He's known for representing convicted killer Dallin Millard and was also accused of wrongdoing in that case. So Perotica is accused of playing an essential role in weddings operation. They actually describe him as an integral part of the scheme, helping with the day-to-day operations. So he's accused of many things. Among them, he's accused of allegedly feeding court information on clients to help wedding investigate how cocaine shipments were being seized by authorities. And of paying other defense lawyers in Canada and the U.S. to help learn. if any of Wedding's traffickers were cooperating with authorities. And then at one point, he allegedly advised Wedding directly

that if he killed the FBI's key witness, Atrobedo Garcia, the case against him would fall apart. So he's one of the 10 people arrested last week, Paradkar. And I'll just say again that none of these allegations have been proven in court at this time, including the allegations against Paradcar. But of the 10, seven of them were Canadian. They also include an alleged Montreal organized crime leader, a Colombian madame behind a network of sex workers.

There is a former junior hockey player in Calgary, a Toronto jeweler and professional poker player who was allegedly Wedding's accountant. Like, I'm literally not making this up. And just what does this all add to the picture here for you, like all of this new information? It is quite the cast of characters. For myself, who I've been on the case for a long time, this sort of reinforces, one, just how big Ryan Wedding is. This guy's working with Canadians, Americans, people in Mexico and Colombia,

people all over the world to run this massive empire that authorities accuse him of leading. Let's end then today talking about Ryan himself. So we've talked about how authorities believe that he may be in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel. It seems to me like his operation would be damaged by these latest arrests and all the attention that's been put on him since 2024. but is that, do people think that that's true?

Like, does law enforcement think that he's still operating? It's my understanding that they do think he's still running this operation. I mean, that's the question. I mean, how much of this, I mean, obviously this is a blow to his organization, but just how much it actually has an impact on the organization is a bit of a question mark. It seems like it would be quite substantial. So that's something that we're going to, I think, think see play out moving forward. Also another question to think about is, you know, with these

people who are arrested, how much are they going to cooperate with authorities? Are they going to be able to help authorities uncover new evidence? Are there going to, is there going to be another press conference in a couple months or in a year's time, and it's even more arrests? These are things that I'm thinking about and that we're going to see. But yeah, in the meantime, he obviously is not arrested. He continues to evade capture. He's in hiding. And then there's obviously the question of what does that look like? I mean, we know there's the reward. Is anyone going to turn on him? For $15 million? Yeah, I don't know. Like, if you have the attention of the U.S. government on you and the Canadian government, like, why did, and now this $15 million

bounty, it was $10 million before. So if you could just elaborate on sort of what that protection really means. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he's obviously considered an asset to the cartels. He's able to continue doing business. And so as long as he can continue operating his organization, I don't see why they would turn on him. I mean, $15 million to them really isn't that much than when they're making that much just from a couple of cocaine shipments, if you look at it like that. That said, is there a possibility that somebody could turn on him?

Absolutely. Okay, Calvi, I feel like we could probably keep going here, but we should, we should, this feels like a good place to end it. We'll have to get you back on soon to kind of bring us up to speed on the latest here. Yeah, absolutely. All right. That's all for today. I'm Jamie Poisson. Thanks so much. Talk to you tomorrow. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca slash podcasts.