Aventura mansion raid part of transnational cocaine operation ran by ex-Olympian: FBI
An FBI raid Wednesday on a multi-million dollar mansion in Aventura was part of a widescale federal operation to take down a transnational cocaine trafficking organization that officials say is headed by a former Olympic athlete.
One person was arrested when the warrant was served at the 3900 block of Island Estates Drive, Kristi Hawkins, FBI special agent in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office, said during a media briefing Thursday. Authorities did not identify the person cuffed.
Arrests related to the organization were also made in the U.S., Colombia, Mexico and Canada. In all, 12 people were arrested. Though Hawkins noted four members of the organization, including the alleged ringleader, Ryan James Wedding, 43, are still at large.
Wedding competed on the Canadian snowboarding team during the 2002 Winter Olympics. But instead of continuing his athletic achievements, "he chose to become a major drug trafficker and he chose to become a killer," said Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
Along with trafficking more than 60 tons of cocaine a year into the U.S. and Canada, the FBI said Wedding's gang used contract killers to murder at least four people, including a couple in Canada visiting from India, who were shot dead in front of their daughter — also wounded by gunfire.
According to Estrada, Wedding's organization would buy its cocaine from Colombia and ship it to Mexico — where he was running the operation.
From Mexico, the group used long-haul truckers to take to drugs to Los Angeles, where it would be taken to various stash houses in the area. And, from the stash houses, again, using long-haul truckers, the contraband would be delivered to the East Coast of the U.S. and various parts of Canada, Estrada said.
The group used various cryptocurrency "wallets" to launder the drug more proceeds, Estrada said. Agents said that in one wallet alone, they found more than $3 million.
Wedding has a prior conviction for drug trafficking in the U.S., serving four years in prison.
"Upon his release, we believe he went back to drug trafficking, and in fact built this ruthless and prolific organization," Estrada said.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for Wedding's capture. The agency is asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 800-225-5324.
He's charged with running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder, attempted murder and conspiring to possess, distribute, and export cocaine.
His second-in-command, Andrew Clark, 34 — also a Canadian citizen — was arrested by Mexican authorities on Oct. 8, according to the Justice Department.
The government says Wedding's drug transport operations in Canada were run by Hardeep Ratte, 45, of Ontario, and Gurpreet Singh, 30, of Ontario.
The investigation into Wedding's organization included the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as the Royal Mounted Canadian Police and law enforcement in Mexico and Colombia.
