The Underworld Podcast – Feb 3, 2026

Episode: "Ryan Wedding Arrest & China’s Scam Executions: Stash house!"

Hosts: Danny Gold & Sean Williams
Episode Type: Stash House (unstructured, catch-up)

Overview

In this Stash House episode, Danny Gold and Sean Williams skip their traditional deep-dive storytelling format, instead serving up an engaging rapid-fire rundown of recent, wild, and often disturbing global organized crime stories. From the blockbuster arrest of ex-Olympian turned drug lord Ryan Wedding in Mexico, to China’s high-profile executions of scam lords, the hosts throw open the doors to the modern criminal underworld. Special focus is given to shifting cartel priorities, gangs going "old school" with extortion, global scam hubs, and the persistent, sometimes bizarre, overlap between organized crime and sports.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why This Episode Is a "Stash House"

• Context: Sean is relocating his family, dog, and newborn from New Zealand to Argentina—logistical chaos limits their ability to prep a full episode.
  • [02:52] Danny: "He's transitioning from a New Zealand yokel to a sexy Latin...tango dance person. Right this very week as he moves to Argentina."
  • [03:08] Danny: "We decided to save him the troubles of writing a script this week and hit you guys with a stash house episode instead."

2. The Ryan Wedding Saga: Canadian Olympian-Turned-Cartel Boss Arrested in Mexico

[04:26–14:31]

• Ryan Wedding: Ex-Olympic snowboarder (Salt Lake 2002, placed 23rd), Canadian, made meteoric rise in Sinaloa cartel.

• Key Timeline:

  • Indicted by US feds (Oct 2024) for leading a transnational criminal organization.
  • Accused of ordering a hit on a witness (Jan 2025).
  • Added to FBI’s Most Wanted, $15M reward.
  • Arrested January 2025 after a mysterious, possibly AI-generated Instagram account appeared claiming to be him.

• Conflicting Narratives on Arrest:

  • Some say Wedding surrendered for protection after cartel heat.
  • His defense attorney oddly insists he didn’t surrender, was arrested.
  • Reports of a covert FBI operation (forbidden under Mexican law) that directly snatched him in Mexico.
  • "Vanity Fair had a big article saying that Mexican law enforcement grabbed him, but that there were some serious negotiations that led to him being handed over to an FBI hostage rescue team." [08:03]
  • Wall Street Journal’s “bombshell”: FBI took physical custody on Mexican soil—a violation of sovereignty.
  • Political sensitivity: Mexico’s President Sheinbaum denies US operational role.
  • Notable Quote:
    [09:41] Danny (reading Owen Grillo): "Yet to add even more intrigue, Mexican journalist Carlos Lorette cited a Mexican government source saying it was a surrender to the FBI negotiated over weeks..."
  • Wedding pleads not guilty (“weird” if he cut a deal), defense lawyer is Anthony Colombo — reportedly the mafia don’s grandson.

• Why It Matters:
  The case exposes the blurred lines between law enforcement, diplomacy, and cartel leverage in North America’s narco wars.

3. Vicious Extortion & Violence in Mexico’s Countryside: The El Botox Arrest

[27:17–30:51]

• El Botox (Cesar Alejandro Sepulveda Arellano): Not a drug lord, but an extortion king, threatening and killing lime and citrus growers.
  • Notable for targeting non-narcotic sectors—cartels are “a state within a state.”
  • The murder of agricultural leader Bernardo Bravo spurs a military troop surge in Michoacan.
  • "It never really stops in Mexico, man. You know, we might stop paying attention to some of these places, me included, but it just, it just doesn't stop." [30:51]

4. Football (Soccer) & Crime: The Kidnapping of Adrian Heath

[20:26–27:17]

• Story in The Athletic: Legendary British footballer Adrian Heath gets tricked with a fake Saudi job offer.
  • Lured to Morocco by “club owners,” kidnapped, extorted.
  • Son, FBI & location tracking foil the plot; Heath is released after 24 hours and small theft.
  • Criminals’ sloppiness: forgot to disable location services.
  • Memorable Moment:
    [25:20] Sean: "Heath is so British that he then...tries to make small talk by telling them, 'oh, Morocco were great in the World Cup.'"
• Broader Theme: Increasing frequency of kidnappings, match-fixing, human trafficking in the football world.

5. Canadian Gangland: Extortion Crisis in Surrey, BC

[31:14–34:14]

• Indo-Canadian gangs (offshoots of Bindi Johal’s old crew) turn from drugs to high-volume extortion, leaving residents terrorized.
  • State of emergency declared after 35 incidents in one month, shots fired at homes and businesses.
  • "We're talking like Sicily in the 80s over here, right? Well, maybe not that much, but still..." [34:14]
  • Kabaddi (Indian sport) also entwined with this underworld violence.

6. Scam Execution Crackdown: China’s War on Scam Lords

[35:11–41:34]

• China makes headlines executing 11 members of the Ming crime family (Kokang region, Myanmar), operators of compound-style scam “cities.”
• Prince Group, Cambodia’s giant conglomerate, collapses: its billionaire boss extradited to China.
  • [38:03] Sean: "At its peak the group had 10,000 people working to conduct scams and other crimes."
• Deeper Implications:
  • Chinese authorities flexing muscle in border regions, sending harsh signals to military regimes (like Myanmar’s junta) and organized crime.
  • China–Myanmar relations, power politics, and regional criminal economies are increasingly interwoven.
    • "China is now actively trying to nab and kill these guys, which shows that these organized criminals...know where all the bodies are buried." [40:30]
  • Side note: Sean’s investment tip—tin mining, a “geopolitical commodity,” tied to Myanmar’s black economies.

7. Tobacco Wars Down Under: Iraqi-Australian Superboss Arrested

[41:51–45:23]

• Kazem Hamad: Iraqi-Australian kingpin, exiled and then re-arrested in Iraq at Australia’s request.
  • Built fortune on heroin, then illegal tobacco—exploiting sky-high Australian cigarette taxes.
  • War among bootleg tobacco traders led to murder, arson, firebombings, and sometimes links to Iran’s IRGC (accused of organizing arsons for cash).
  • Notable Quote:
    [43:45] Sean: "I think [cigarettes are] 30, 35 bucks. It's insane."
  • Extradition process underway; shows reach and persistence of organized crime even after acclaimed bosses are “deported.”

8. Counterfeit Pill Empire: Brit Builds Drug Kingdom After Lottery Win

[45:56–48:52]

• John Eric Spilby (65): Pensioner, wins lottery, builds a Xanax, diazepam pressing operation (“WhatsApp for criminals”) with his son.
  • Expanded from legal riches to massive underworld pill production.
  • Bust part of the EncroChat leak fallout—UK’s ongoing police goldmine.
  • [47:26] Sean: "Despite your lottery win, you continue to live your life of crime beyond what would be a normal retirement age." (Judge)
• Hosts: Find the “Breaking Bad in Wigan” aspect darkly hilarious.
  • "Life doesn't end at 65, guys. You can build an empire. And the Brits haven't lost their spirit." [48:52]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [04:26] Danny: "Ryan Wedding...former Canadian Olympian snowboarder, began a meteoric rise in the drug game in the 2000s, culminating with him being pretty high up in the Sinaloa cartel, especially for a foreigner."
• [09:41] (quoting Owen Grillo): "Yet to add even more intrigue, Mexican journalist Carlos Lorette cited a Mexican government source saying it was a surrender to the FBI negotiated over weeks..."
• [14:09] Danny: "Jared Kiso is like a, like a writer, actor guy. He had a show called Letterkenny about, like, a rural Canadian town. That's just, like, one of the funniest things ever..."
• [25:20] Sean: "Heath is so British that he then, like, he feels uncomfortable in the silence, so he tries to make small talk by telling them, 'oh, Morocco were great in the World Cup.'"
• [30:51] Danny: "It never really stops in Mexico, man. You know, we might stop paying attention to some of these places, me included, but it just never stops."
• [34:14] Danny: "That's nuts, dude. That's like, I mean we're talking like sicily in the 80s over here, right? Well, maybe not that much, but still..."
• [38:03] Sean: "...the group had 10,000 people working to conduct scams and other crimes."
• [40:30] Sean: "China is now actively trying to nab and kill these guys, which shows that these organized criminals...know where all the bodies are buried."
• [47:26] (Judge): "Despite your lottery win, you continue to live your life of crime beyond what would be a normal retirement age."
• [48:52] Sean: "Life doesn't end at 65, guys. You can build an empire. And the Brits haven't lost their spirit."

Segment Timestamps

• [04:26] — Ryan Wedding background/recap
• [07:47] — Theories behind Wedding’s protection/arrest
• [11:41] — Wall Street Journal exposes cross-border FBI operation
• [13:41] — Drug trafficking dominates US-Latin America affairs
• [20:26] — Adrian Heath’s kidnapping in Morocco
• [27:17] — "El Botox" extortion kingpin & violence in Mexican agriculture
• [31:14] — Indo-Canadian gangster violence, Surrey BC state of emergency
• [35:11] — China’s execution spree & scam center crackdown; Prince Group collapse
• [41:51] — Kazem Hamad and Australia’s tobacco wars
• [45:56] — Wigan’s pensioner lottery drug kingpin

Closing Thoughts

Even on a “low effort” week, The Underworld Podcast delivers a whirlwind tour of criminal frontiers: the increasingly blurred borders between sports, politics, and mobster economies; the ever-adapting tactics of global cartels; and explosive violence touching even supposedly “safe” first-world cities.
Listeners are reminded: The reach, influence, and brutality of the global underworld is never out of the headlines—and sometimes, truth is much stranger than the movies.

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End of Episode Summary