U.S. federal authorities have announced the arrest of Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, on charges related to large-scale cocaine trafficking and murder, marking the end of a decade-long international manhunt.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Wedding allegedly operated a transnational drug trafficking organization that relied heavily on cryptocurrency — particularly stablecoins — to move and launder illicit proceeds across borders.
The case underscores the increasingly prominent role that digital assets are playing in financial crime investigations, especially as stablecoins gain global liquidity and accessibility.
A Decade-Long Manhunt Comes to an End
Authorities stated that Wedding, 44, surrendered himself at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City late Thursday, following years of coordinated tracking efforts by U.S. and international law enforcement agencies.
Wedding had been listed among the U.S. Department of Justice’s most-wanted fugitives, with a $15 million reward offered in 2024 for information leading to his capture.
Investigators allege that Wedding operated under multiple aliases, including “El Jefe” and “Public Enemy,” while coordinating cocaine shipments from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California, with final distribution reaching both the United States and Canada.
Federal prosecutors have also linked Wedding to the murder of a cooperating witness, who was reportedly shot multiple times at a restaurant in Colombia in early 2024.
Crypto and Stablecoins at the Core of the Operation
Central to the case is the alleged use of cryptocurrency as a financial backbone for the trafficking network.
According to the indictment, Wedding’s operation laundered proceeds using a combination of U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, and digital assets, with a particular reliance on Tether (USDT).
Authorities describe a layered laundering strategy involving:
Breaking large sums into smaller transactions
Routing funds through multiple intermediary USDT wallets
Consolidating assets into a central Tether wallet allegedly controlled by Wedding
This structure was designed to obscure transaction trails and complicate forensic tracking across jurisdictions.
Court filings also allege that in November 2024, an associate received approximately 2 million Colombian pesos linked to operational expenses, with funds believed to have originated from cryptocurrency transactions tied to the sale of roughly 300 kilograms of cocaine.
Part of a Broader Trend in Crypto-Related Crime
The Wedding case is not an isolated incident. In recent months, U.S. authorities have brought charges against multiple individuals accused of using digital assets for money laundering and illicit finance.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice charged a Venezuelan national in connection with a $1 billion crypto-based laundering scheme, highlighting the growing scale of such operations.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has reported that illicit blockchain addresses received at least $154 billion in 2025, representing a 162% increase year-over-year. While this figure reflects only a fraction of total crypto activity, it reinforces concerns around the misuse of digital assets alongside their legitimate applications.
Crypto Remains Neutral Infrastructure
Law enforcement agencies continue to emphasize that blockchain technology itself is neutral, with most criminal activity representing a small portion of total on-chain volume. At the same time, cases like this illustrate why regulatory scrutiny, compliance tooling, and blockchain analytics remain central to the evolution of the crypto ecosystem.
As investigations increasingly intersect with digital finance, authorities are expected to further expand their focus on stablecoins, cross-chain transfers, and wallet attribution techniques.
This article is for informational purposes only and reflects personal analysis. It does not constitute investment advice. Readers should conduct their own independent research before making any financial or investment decisions. The author assumes no responsibility for outcomes related to such decisions.
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