Canadian ex-Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin arrested in Mexico,

Ryan Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder suspected of becoming a cocaine smuggling kingpin responsible for multiple drug-related murders, has been arrested and brought to the U.S. to face charges, U.S. officials said on Friday.



Speaking at a press conference at an airport east of Los Angeles, FBI Director Kash Patel said Wedding was arrested Thursday evening in Mexico City after years on the run.



"This individual and his organization and the Sinaloa Cartel poured narcotics into the streets of North America, and killed too many of our youth and corrupted too many of our citizens," Patel said. "That ends today."



Patel described Wedding as the "largest narco-trafficker in modern times," akin to notorious drug lords like Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Pablo Escobar.

Wedding, 44, is on the FBI's "Top 10 Most Wanted" list for allegedly running a transnational drug trafficking network responsible for transporting hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to the United States and Canada. The U.S. government had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Patel did not disclose whether the reward would be paid out.