The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrest of Ryan Wedding, who is charged with cocaine trafficking and murder. Wedding is allegedly part of a transnational drug ring that used cryptocurrency to move and launder profits.
The event marked a continuation of the increasingly important role that digital assets, especially stablecoin payments, have in facilitating illegal financing.
FBI ends ten-year manhunt
According to the FBI, Wedding, a 44-year-old former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, was taken into custody Thursday night. The arrest marked the end of a ten-year search for one of the Justice Department's most wanted individuals.
Mexican authorities reported that Wedding turned himself in to U.S. authorities at the embassy in Mexico City.
The arrest was due to Wedding's alleged role in a transnational drug trafficking operation under one of Mexico's largest criminal organizations. Authorities also claim that Wedding operated under several aliases, including “El Jefe” and “Public Enemy”.
“He is alleged to have managed and participated in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely transported hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California to the U.S. and Canada – as a member of the Sinaloa cartel,” said FBI Director Kash Patel in a social media post.
In 2024, the FBI announced a reward of $ 15 million for information leading to his arrest.
Two months ago, prosecutor Bill Essayli revealed at a press conference that Wedding was also responsible for the murder of a witness who was shot five times in the head at a restaurant in Colombia in January.
Authorities also emphasized that Wedding's operation used cryptocurrency to launder money and move profits across borders.
USDT wallets used to hide income
According to the indictment, Wedding's operation concealed significant amounts of profits from cocaine sales using U.S. and Canadian dollars, as well as cryptocurrency.
Authorities believed that the operation used a sophisticated Tether-based system to do this.
The scheme involved breaking up large sums into smaller transactions. These funds were then sent through several intermediary USDT wallets before ending up in a central Tether wallet that was allegedly controlled by Wedding.
The indictment also showed that in November 2024, another defendant received around 2 million Colombian pesos to promote the business. The money was reportedly converted from cryptocurrency as payment for approximately 300 kilos of cocaine.
Wedding's case is just one of several similar cases that have been uncovered recently. Earlier this month, the Justice Department charged a Venezuelan citizen for allegedly using crypto in a $ 1 billion money laundering scheme.
At the same time, cryptocurrency crime reached a record level in 2025.
According to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, illegal addresses received at least $ 154 billion last year, representing an increase of 162% from 2024.