THE FBI announced on Wednesday that the U.S. has raised the reward for Canadian narcotics trafficker Ryan Wedding to $15 million USD, with additional rewards offered for information leading to the arrests of unknown assassins who allegedly murdered a potential witness last January in Medellin, Colombia.
In new indictments, Wedding was accused of ordering the murder of a federal witness—who was executed with five bullets to the head earlier this year—before he could testify against Wedding. Among seven subjects arrested on Wednesday in Canada was Wedding’s attorney, Deepak Paradkar, who allegedly recommended to Wedding that he have the witness murdered, the FBI said. [INDICTMENT]
According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice, “Paradkar, a criminal barrister … advised Wedding to murder the victim so that Wedding would avoid extradition to the United States from Mexico on the 2024 federal criminal charges against him. Paradkar also provided Wedding with court documents and discovery to which he would not otherwise have access, and – through attorneys whose representation he secured – access to enterprise members and associates who either were arrested, indicted, or under investigation.”
Wedding, who is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is a snowboarder who represented Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. After his snowboarding career, Wedding turned to a life of crime as a transnational narcotics trafficker.
In the November 19 press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., officials from the U.S. and Canada described Wedding as a narco-trafficker on par with notorious drug lords like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wedding’s operation was responsible for more than $1 billion a year in illegal drug proceeds.
“He controls one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations in this world,” Bondi said, adding that under Wedding’s direction his operation has trafficked 60 metric tons of cocaine per year. “He is the largest distributor of cocaine in Canada.”
Officials said Wedding is believed to live in Mexico. They said the 44-year-old works with the Sinaloa Cartel there to flood U.S. and Canadian communities with cocaine from Colombia and that the cartel is protecting him.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release: “To eliminate threats and advance his enterprise’s interests, Wedding issued orders to murder various individuals, including an order to kill the victim, a witness in a 2024 federal narcotics case against Wedding, which resulted in the victim’s death. Wedding placed a bounty on the victim and enlisted the services of others to locate and kill the victim, who was shot to death in a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, in January 2025.
“In the 2024 indictment, Wedding is charged with running a continuing criminal enterprise, assorted drug trafficking charges, and directing the November 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Caledon, Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that passed through Southern California. Another member of that family survived the shooting but was left with serious physical injuries.”
The following defendants were arrested Tuesday as part of the second phase of a law enforcement action entitled “Operation Giant Slalom”:
- Deepak Balwant Paradkar, 62, of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada;
- Atna Ohna, 40, of Laval, Québec, Canada;
- Gursewak Singh Bal, 31, of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada;
- Allistair Chapman, 33, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada;
- Ahmad Nabil Zitoun, 35, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;
- Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez, 47, of Bogotá, Colombia;
- Yulieth Katherine Tejada, 36, of Orlando, Florida, who is legal permanent resident from Colombia;
- Edwin Basora-Hernandez, 31, of Montréal;
- Wilson Riascos, 45, of Cali, Colombia; and
- Rolan Sokolovski, 37, of Toronto.
The U.S. Department of Justice said: “Bal was the co-founder and co-operator of “The Dirty News,” a website that law enforcement seized pursuant to a federal warrant. In exchange for payment, Bal agreed to not post about Wedding and instead posted a photograph of the victim so that the victim could be located and killed.
“Basora-Hernandez, a reggaeton musician and citizen of the Dominican Republic, provided co-conspirators with the victim’s contact information for the purpose of helping Wedding and his criminal enterprise locate and murder the victim.
“Concurrent with Tuesday’s arrests, law enforcement has taken immigration action against associates of Wedding’s enterprise, including Latin pop artist Samantha Melissa Granda-Gastelu, 38, a Canadian national residing in Aventura, Florida, whose husband Nahim Jorge Bonilla, 37, has been indicted on separate murder conspiracy charges. Bonilla is in currently in federal custody, charged with drug trafficking crimes. An immigration action also is being initiated against Madeline Paradkar, 27, a Canadian national residing in Chicago who is an attorney and Paradkar’s daughter.”
Law enforcement continues to search for Wedding, and the following three defendants:
- Rasheed Pascua Hossain, 32, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada;
- Bianca Canastillo-Madrid, 37, of Mexico City; and
- Tommy Demorizi, 35, of Montréal, who is believed to be a fugitive in the Dominican Republic
If convicted, Wedding – and the defendants charged in connection with the victim’s murder – would face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
screenshot / FBI
The Department of Justice and FBI are working closely with the State and Treasury departments, as well as the RCMP in Canada. The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs offered the increased reward under its Narcotics Rewards Program. Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Wedding and others closely associated with him, effectively cutting them off from their financial accounts in the U.S.
“Today’s announcement is a culmination of the steadfast work of the FBI and our partners around the world to identify and dismantle violent gang and drug organizations,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. Wedding’s “criminal activities and violent actions will not be tolerated, and this is a clear signal that the FBI will use our resources and expertise to find Ryan Wedding and bring him and his associates to justice.”
Photos: FBI
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said Wedding—at 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing about 240 pounds—should stand out in Mexico. Davis said Wedding may change his appearance and hair color and should not be approached because he is dangerous.
“We will find him, and we will bring him to justice,” Davis said.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
RCMP:
OCTOBER 2024
As part of the FBI Operation GIANT SLALOM, US authorities indicted 16 people, including 10 Canadians, in October 2024 for a range of serious charges including drug trafficking, murder, conspiracy to murder and continuing a criminal enterprise.
Four Canadians were arrested in Ontario by local Canadian law enforcement at the request of US authorities, pending extradition. They were:
- Hardeep Ratte
- Gurpreet Singh
- Rakhim Ibragimov
- Malik Cunningham
Three Canadian individuals were also arrested in the US:
- Nahim Jorge Bonilla
- Ranjit Singh Rowal
- Iqbal Singh Virk
A ninth Canadian, Andrew Clark, was also arrested in Mexico by local authorities as part of efforts against this network.
A 10th Canadian, Gennadii Bilonog, remains at large.
Along with the indictments, law enforcement seized over one tonne of drugs and collected evidence on numerous homicides and conspiracies to commit murder.
- “Giant”
- “Public Enemy”
- “El Jefe”
Wedding was also placed on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list.
Wedding was charged in an original indictment with running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder, and conspiring to possess, distribute, and export cocaine.
Law enforcement involved in this investigation is aware of past and current attempts to intimidate/threaten witnesses by the Wedding organization and affiliates. Any attempt to intimidate or threaten a witness will be investigated thoroughly and those found committing these offences will be prosecuted.
