WASHINGTON (KABC) — Federal investigators announced the arrest of nearly a dozen people alleged to be part of an international drug ring responsible for bringing $1 billion worth of cocaine and other narcotics into the United States each year, from Mexico to Southern California.
But the former Olympic snowboarder accused of being the ringleader is still on the loose.
Ryan James Wedding, a 44-year-old Canadian and member of that country’s 2002 Winter Olympics team, is accused of running a criminal enterprise that has smuggled six metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semitrucks from Mexico.
“Ryan Wedding is a modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar,” FBI Director Kash Patel said at a news conference Wednesday. “He’s a modern day iteration of ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”
The top law enforcement officials in the U.S. gathered in Washington D.C. to announce new federal charges filed against Wedding and a massive $15 million reward issued for his arrest.
“Ryan Wedding has orchestrated murders against his rivals, against cooperating witnesses, against anybody that crosses his path,” said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.
The charges allege Wedding, who’s on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, ordered the killing of a witness who was set to testify against him in a federal drug trafficking case, prosecutors said.
“The murder of a witness in Colombia earlier this year was a cruel, cold-blooded act that could not and did not go unanswered,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “This week’s arrests underscore our resolve to root out and punish the wrongdoers involved in this criminal organization and serve as a warning for drug lord Ryan Wedding: If convicted, you will never see the outside of a prison ever again.”
Ten people were arrested Tuesday as part of a law enforcement action entitled Operation Giant Slalom:
Deepak Balwant Paradkar, 62, a.k.a, “Cocaine Lawyer,” of Thornhill, Ontario, CanadaAtna Ohna, 40, of Laval, Québec, CanadaGursewak Singh Bal, 31, of Mississauga, Ontario, CanadaAllistair Chapman, 33, of Calgary, Alberta, CanadaAhmad Nabil Zitoun, 35, of Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaCarmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez, 47, of Bogotá, ColombiaYulieth Katherine Tejada, 36, of Orlando, Florida, who is legal permanent resident from ColombiaEdwin Basora-Hernandez, 31, a.k.a. “Edwin Hernandez,” and “Ed Winter,” of MontréalWilson Riascos, 45, of Cali, ColombiaRolan Sokolovski, 37, of Toronto
ABC News contributed to this report.
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