What we know about Canadians caught in alleged international drug ring run by former Olympian – CP24

Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder failed to improve his performance in Turin four years later.

Instead, the FBI says the 43-year-old became the “boss” of an international drug trafficking ring that allegedly transported tens of millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine to four countries and ordered four murders in Canada.

In a 53-page indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice on Oct. 17 and obtained by CTV News Toronto, officials outlined the inner workings of the alleged operation, which also named nine other Canadians.

Over the course of several months, the group allegedly smuggled 1,800 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $25 million from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California to Canada and other parts of the United States, using a complex network of dispatchers, drivers, distributors and warehouses.

Here’s what we know about Operation Giant Slalom:

“El Jefe”

According to his Olympic biography, Wedding was named, but never charged, in a search warrant in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, in connection with an investigation into an illegal marijuana grow in 2006.

Two years later, he was arrested and later convicted of attempting to purchase cocaine from a U.S. government agent and sentenced to four years in prison.

This information, which is still publicly available on the Games’ official website, serves as a preview of the criminal career the FBI says Wedding would embark on over the next decade.

Wedding, whose nicknames include “El Jefe,” “Boss” and “Giant,” ran his illegal drug empire from 2011 to 2024, according to the indictment, in California, Mexico, Colombia, Canada and other countries. He allegedly served as the “principal administrator, organizer and leader” of the criminal enterprise along with 34-year-old Andrew Clark, who is also Canadian.

The duo not only ran the operation together, but also allegedly masterminded the pair’s November 20, 2023 murder in Caledon, Ontario. in “retaliation” for a stolen drug shipment that passed through Southern California, the indictment alleges. However, the couple, Jagtar Singh Sidhu (57) and Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu (55), were the unintended targets of the shooting and were “completely innocent”, police said. Their daughter, 28-year-old Jaspreet Kaur Sidhu, survived.

In addition to the double murder in Caledon, Wedding and Clark also allegedly ordered the May 18, 2024 murder of another victim in Brampton over a drug debt.

Local police say Wedding, Clark and another suspect, identified as 23-year-old Canadian Malik Damion Cunningham, will also face charges in connection with the murder that occurred on April 1, 2024, in Niagara Falls.

Clark, who the FBI said lived in Mexico and was known to his associates as “The Dictator,” was arrested in Mexico by local authorities earlier this month. Cunningham was arrested in April. Wedding, who also reportedly lives in Mexico, is at large.

Wedding is the lead defendant in the indictment and is wanted on eight charges, including three counts of murder in connection with an ongoing criminal enterprise. Clark faces the same charges as well as an additional murder charge due to his ongoing criminal and drug activity.

In addition to the indictment, Wedding faces separate “unresolved” drug trafficking charges in Canada dating back to 2015, according to the RCMP.

Speaking at a news conference earlier this month, U.S. District Attorney Martin Estrada said investigators believe Wedding resumed drug dealing after his release from prison for his 2010 conviction and has since been protected by the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for his arrest.

Of the 16 suspects named in the indictment, 14 are in police custody.

Meeting in Mexico

Details revealed in a court extradition request obtained by CTV News Toronto show police south of the border knew where Wedding and Clark were in January 2024.

According to the statement of fact included in the motion, at the direction of U.S. law enforcement, a cooperating witness (CW) met with the couple somewhere in Mexico this month.

Officials say the CW, which began working with police last year, had been dealing drugs with Wedding for more than a decade before the encounter.

The court document states that the call was “lawfully recorded” and in it instructed CW to work with two Canadians in the shipping industry to coordinate shipments of cocaine the following month.

“Clark told CW that Wedding would transport up to 350 kilograms of cocaine at one time,” the document reads.

Wedding was not arrested.

Transport

The FBI said Wedding and Clark used the Canadian drug transportation network to transport their products and identified Ontario residents Hardeep Ratte, 45, and Gurpreet Singh, 30, as the managers of that part of the operation.

“Defendant Clark directed the individual to negotiate a transportation contract with a Canadian drug transportation network (“TP”) operated by defendants Ratte and Singh,” the indictment reads.

According to the Department of Justice, shipments of cocaine were transported from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, stored in lockers and delivered to TP “couriers” for transportation to Canada via long-haul semi-trucks.

In one case, which occurred on February 20, 2024, the indictment alleged that Ratte and Singh had an in-person meeting in Toronto with CW from a meeting in Mexico.

The FBI alleges that during this meeting, Ratte and Singh agreed to transport DTO cocaine from California to Canada for a flat fee of $220,000 per load.

Ratt and Singh were led by two other Canadians, Rakhim Ibragimov and Gennadii Bilonog, who, according to the indictment, worked as “dispatchers” for the network, picking up cocaine from central California for possible shipment to Canada.

In another incident that occurred on March 4, the FBI reported that defendant Carlos Alberto Peña Goyeneche (non-Canadian) delivered 293 kilograms of cocaine to Bilonog and texted Wedding the following: “Ready Boss delivered order for 293.”

Although Ibragimov was arrested by Ontario police last week, Bilonog remains at large.

Two other drivers, identified as Canadians Ranjit Singh Rowal and Iqbal Singh Virk, were also arrested in the US for their alleged involvement in the plot.

“Go over Nigara and blow those boys away.”

The statement of facts also shows encrypted communications between Clark and Cunningham, during which the former allegedly hired Cunningham “to assassinate a list of targets” that included a victim identified in the court document as RF.

Officials said that on March 18, 2024, Cunnigham exchanged messages with Clark via Threema, an encrypted instant messaging service. Cunnigham allegedly wrote: “OK, I want to do the easiest solution and move my head.”

According to the fact sheet, Clark replied, “Maybe Niagara will fall, lol. But it’s not much 100 thousand. and I will cover the costs. Work away, someone else was supposed to do it, but put your new military training skills to the test.

The documents also say Clark later told Cunningham to “go across Niagara and blow things up for these guys.”

Other details were found in court documents, including vehicle descriptions and photos matching evidence found by police at the crime scene.

The statement of facts shows that on April 1, RF Cunningham received a “ping” signal two kilometers from his residence. Court documents show that two days after the murder, Cunnigham took a photo on his phone showing a gun and a large amount of Canadian currency with the caption “good night!”

Niagara Regional Police identified the victim as 29-year-old Ryan Fader.

Wedding, Clark Threatened to Kill Co-Defendant’s Mother: Indictment

Another Canadian named in the indictment is Nahim Jorge Bonilla, who the FBI says ran into a drug debt with Wedding and Clark that led the alleged ring leaders to threaten his mother’s life if he didn’t pay up.

While it is unclear exactly when the transaction occurred, the indictment states that Wedding and Clark provided Bonilla with 12 kilograms of cocaine. Authorities say Bonilla paid for seven of those kilograms upon delivery and was fined for the remaining five.

Bonilla then allegedly distributed and “attempted” to distribute 12 kilograms of cocaine.

However, the deal fell through when authorities found that Bonilla had failed to repay the five kilograms he received as a debt.

“On June 14, 2024, through Threema, using coded language, defendant Wedding told defendant Bonilla that he would kill his mother,” the indictment reads.

Bonilla had until June 17 to settle the balance and later sent Wedding and Clark payment for the two kilograms in the form of cryptocurrency.

As for the remaining three kilograms owed, the Justice Department said Bonilla agreed to send a driver to Laval, Quebec, to sell approximately 20 kilograms of methamphetamine as payment to Wedding and Clark.

“On June 25, 2024, via Threema, using coded language, defendant Wedding told CS (a confidential source cooperating with law enforcement) that defendant Bonilla had paid him in full for 5 kilograms of cocaine.”

With files from Bryann Aguilar