FBI's Most Wanted Trafficker Ryan James Wedding Part 1: Global Network Sanctioned by the US

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The US has raised the reward for Canadian alleged narcotics trafficker Ryan James Wedding to $15 million, with additional $2 million rewards offered for information leading to the arrests of the unknown assassins who murdered a FBI witness last January in Medellín, Colombia.

FBI Director Kash Patel claims, "He's the Pablo Escobar of modern times."

   
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.

FBI's Most Wanted

In a November 19 press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., officials from the US and Canada described Wedding as a "narco-trafficker on par with notorious drug lords like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar." US 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 say the 44-year-old works with the Sinaloa Cartel there to flood US and Canadian communities with cocaine from Colombia and that the cartel and possibly high level Mexican law enforcement are protecting him.

The US has raised the reward for Canadian alleged narcotics trafficker Ryan Wedding to $15 million, with additional rewards related to the murder of a potential witness. Some of his aliases include James Conrad King, Jesse King, "Giant," "Public Enemy," "Boss," "Buddy," "Grande," "El Jefe," “El Guerro,” and “El Toro.”

Seized cocaine belonging to the Wedding organization.

Ryan James Wedding is wanted for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and also within the United States.

Wedding's Network Sanctioned

The network of the Canadian narco Ryan Wedding allegedly involves a corrupted criminal lawyer, the owner of gang news websites, a former Italian special forces member, a former Mexican police officer, and a Colombian madam.

Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado “The General”

Several key associates have enabled Wedding’s criminal enterprise including Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado, also known as “The General,” who provides protection for Wedding within Mexico and has used law enforcement sources to locate targets for Wedding. 

Vazquez is believed to be a former Mexican law enforcement officer with ties to senior Mexican law enforcement officials. "The General," born in Mexico City, also owns several businesses in the country, including a private security firm and two companies dealing in wholesale fuel. Vazquez owns the Mexico-based companies VRG Energeticos S.A. de C.V., Grupo RVG Combustibles S.A. de C.V., and Grupo Ares Imperial S. de R.L. de C.V.

However, he is not named in either of the US indictments targeting Wedding and criminal associates. 

Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno

Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno is Wedding’s second wife. Castillo launders drug proceeds for Wedding and is responsible for helping conduct acts of violence. 

She was born in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Some media reports have said she has familial or other ties to a cartel which has helped insulate Wedding and allowed him to increase his influence in Mexico.

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Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez

Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez is a Colombian national who runs a high-end prostitution ring in Mexico. Valoyes assisted Wedding with the murder of a federal witness in January 2025. 

Her network of sex workers was allegedly used to gather intelligence on the witness who was killed. It was through her network, according to the indictment, that the witness was discovered in Medellín, Colombia, and shot in the head. Valoyes also introduced Wedding to his Colombian girlfriend, Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias.

Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias

Acuna, 23, has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wedding to live a luxurious lifestyle. She has also assisted Wedding in obtaining information on his rivals.

Wedding has laundered his illicit profits through an extensive transatlantic network of businesses and associates, channeling drug proceeds into luxury assets such as cars and motorcycles that are concealed around the world.

Wedding relies on two chief money launderers to manage his complex financial operations: Canadian jeweler Rolan Sokolovski and former Italian special forces member Gianluca Tiepolo.

Rolan "The Bookkeeper" Sokolovski

Sokolovski has overseen bookkeeping for Wedding’s organization and laundered its funds through his jewelry business, 2351885 Ontario Inc, which operates under the trade name Diamond Tsar and has a storefront in downtown Toronto, Ontario.

In addition to using his business as a front for laundering, Sokolovski has transferred millions of dollars in drug proceeds using cryptocurrency, concealing the origins of Wedding’s profits.

Sokolovski allegedly made a bejeweled necklace as a reward for a Canadian hitman.

Gianluca "The Soldier" Tiepolo

Tiepolo has worked closely with Sokolovski to procure and manage Wedding’s physical assets, including high-end vehicles, and has held millions of dollars in Wedding’s property under his own name to conceal these assets from authorities. Tiepolo owns two businesses that trade in luxury motorcycles and automobiles: Italy-based Stile Italiano S.R.L. (Stile Italiano) and United Kingdom-based TMR Ltd.

Tiepolo is a former Italian special forces soldier who founded Windrose Tactical Solutions S.R.L.S. (Windrose Tactical), which has operated military-style tactical training camps that have trained many of Wedding’s hitmen. 

A 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR, valued by authorities at $13 million, seized by U.S. authorities from the Ryan Wedding organization.

Italian citizen Cristian Diana and UK citizen John Anthony Fallon are business associates of Tiepolo. Diana serves as president of the board of directors of both Stile Italiano and Windrose Tactical. Fallon is a director of TMR Ltd. alongside Tiepolo and is also the 50 percent owner and sole director of two UK companies, LMJ Trading Ltd and Made In Italy Motorcycles Limited.

Tommy Demorizi is a Montreal trafficker still at large.

Gurpreet Singh was once kidnapped by the Sinaloa Cartel over a $600,000 debt. Wedding and Singh's wife helped gain his release.

US officials told the court that Gurpreet Singh has "extensive organized crime connections within Dubai, including relationships with members of the Kinahan gang, which is a well-known, violent organized crime group operating throughout the world."

Singh is also accused to have been involved in a scheme to ship stolen high-end cars to Dubai through the port of Montreal. Singh was recorded discussing the arrangement at a meeting last year by the slain key FBI informant at an auto body shop in Ontario.

The same FBI informant flew to meet with Singh in the United Arab Emirates. Now, his attorneys are looking to have the charges in Canada dismissed due to the murder of the key witness.

The elaborate tale of the killing of a former cellmate of Wedding in Colombia will be tracked in Part 2 of this series. The case involves a corrupt criminal lawyer, an online blog site, Colombian sex workers and murdered FBI informant.

Sources La Presse, La Presse, OFAC, Submundo Criminal, US State Dept, DOJ, FBI, Vancouver Sun, Borderland Beat, Global Mail

Categories: Canada, colombia, FBI, OFAC Sanctions, ryan james wedding