The Underworld Podcast

Episode: The Olympic Snowboarder Narco Kingpin

Hosts: Danny Gold & Sean Williams
Date: May 13, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Danny Gold and Sean Williams unravel the jaw-dropping story of Ryan Wedding—a Canadian Olympic snowboarder who became a top-level international drug trafficker and fugitive. The episode covers his career transformation from athlete to criminal kingpin, the sprawling multinational network he ran with partners from elevator mechanics to Sinaloa cartel fixers, and the violent fallout of a billion-dollar criminal enterprise—complete with assassinations, international intrigue, and a current $10 million bounty on his head. The hosts rely on original reporting and sources from LA Magazine, CBC, Rolling Stone, and Toronto Star, delivering a wild, interconnected tale that illustrates how far and fast one can fall—and the new breed of Canadian narco networks with global reach.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Cold Open: Murder and Motive [01:00–06:11]

• Opening Crime: Double homicide in Ontario—an Indian couple gunned down in a case of mistaken identity over a missing coke shipment in California.
• Hitman: "Mr. Perfect," fresh out of prison and trained in Mexico, executes another murder in Niagara Falls under direction from "Mero Wero," communicating over encrypted apps.
• Kill List: "Mero" (later revealed as Andrew Clark) puts out hits on a variety of targets, from realtors to restaurant owners, with price tags reaching into the millions.

“He stands to earn, quote, a nice $1.5 mil this year if we keep knocking them out the park quick... Give me the easiest one first—the Niagara Falls ginger, lol.”
—Danny Gold, paraphrasing [02:20]

• Botched Cover-Up: Hitman caught due to sloppy CCTV work and undelivered phone messages.
• Big Reveal: Two seemingly unrelated murder cases (Toronto couple and Niagara hit) are connected to the same orchestrator.
• Kingpin: Andrew Clark (“The Dictator”), once an elevator mechanic, is revealed as second-in-command to Ryan Wedding, a one-time Olympic snowboarder.

The Snowboarder Kingpin: Ryan Wedding’s Origin Story [07:21–13:53]

• Upbringing: Born 1981 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Athletic upbringing in outdoorsy, working-class Canada.
• Snowboarding Prodigy: Moves to Vancouver, trains in Whistler, wins major junior medals, and competes at 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics (24th place).
• Nightlife Immersion: Post-Olympics, becomes club bouncer at a time Vancouver’s gang scene is heating up; rubs shoulders with organized criminals.
• Descent to Crime: Drops out of college, starts growing weed at scale; operates huge grow ops, evades charges after a $10 million bust.

"You couldn't just become a snowboarder influencer then or whatever, you know? He needs to get a real job..."
—Danny Gold [13:04]

From Bouncer to Busted: Early Criminal Career [13:54–20:10]

• Failed Drug Deal: 2008—teams up with an Iranian money launderer with Hezbollāh ties and a Russian mobster; a coke buy in LA goes bust, busted by a former KGB agent-turned-informant.
• Arrest and Conviction: Wedding refuses to flip, gets 10 years (reduced to 4).
• Prison Connections: Mixed among Mexican cartel inmates, builds new alliances for the future.

“He refused to cooperate. He ends up going to trial and getting convicted… In May of 2010, he does get it reduced to four years and he's already served two at that point.”
—Danny Gold [18:24]

Leveling Up: From Small-Time to Power Player [22:19–25:37]

• Montreal Move: By 2013, returns to Canada, migrates to Montreal—a hub for Hells Angels, the Mafia, and increasingly the Sinaloa cartel.
• Major Operations: Emerges as middleman and direct broker for multi-ton coke shipments; targets new cross-Atlantic smuggling routes.

“Weddings introduced to the undercover as the man in charge and openly talks about himself as a cocaine importer.”
—Danny Gold [25:13]

• Goes Bankrupt (on Paper): Despite bankruptcy filings, lives in a gated community, driving a new F350; procuring luxury through illicit means.

Fugitive Living & Billion-Dollar Moves [25:37–34:08]

• Elusive Kingpin: Wedding evades arrests in major 2015 takedown, becoming a ghost in law enforcement files.
• Canadian Drug Networks: Collaborates with childhood friend Andrew Clark, now alias’d “The Dictator” or in truly cringe narco-style, “El Niño Problemático”.

“It definitely sounds like a nickname that a white Canadian guy gives himself in Mexico...”
—Danny Gold, on Clark’s alias [27:53]

• Clark’s Cover Life: Until 2020, was quoted as a thrifty, helpful landlord in pandemic-era Toronto—a sharp contrast to his hitman orchestrator status.
• Money Laundering: Real estate in Canada is highlighted as a hub for washing major criminal proceeds.

The Network’s Structure & The Fall [29:12–36:42]

• Tradecraft: Wedding’s operation distributes coke, fentanyl, and meth in bulk from Mexico to Los Angeles, then by truck to Canada.
• Major Players Identified: Partners include Indo-Canadian trucking bosses, a Montreal nightclub/restaurant owner (Miami-based later, rubbing elbows with rappers like Ja Rule), and Russian/Hezbollāh-linked financiers.
• Informer in the Ranks: Jonathan Acevedo Garcia, decades-long lieutenant, flips and records key conversations, dooming the empire.

"Garcia has been arrested in both the US and Canada. He also does time in the same Texas prison as Wedding. And here he starts wearing a wire."
—Danny Gold [30:05]

• Mistaken Murders & Sinaloan Chaos: A stolen shipment sparks a rash of murders—including the mistaken identity hit in Toronto.
• Retaliation and Debt: Bonilla threatened, pays in crypto and meth; partners kidnapped by Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.

Operation Giant Slalom & The Takedown [38:03–41:00]

• Multi-Nation Raids: October 2024, authorities launch "Operation Giant Slalom." Simultaneous arrests across Colombia, US, Canada, and Mexico; major lieutenants extradited, including Clark.

• Cheesy Law Enforcement Quotes:

  • “Wedding went from treading powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets…”
    —FBI Statement [39:48]
  • “The former Canadian snowboarder unleashed an avalanche of death and destruction…”
    —FBI Statement [40:15]

• Wedding Still At Large: Makes FBI's Ten Most Wanted list; believed to be protected by but possibly now out of favor with the Sinaloa cartel—now itself riven with factional infighting.

• Major Witness Murdered: January 2025, Garcia (the informant) is gunned down in daylight in Medellín, Colombia, presumably on Wedding’s orders—a major setback for prosecutors.

"Brother, if you are a witness in a federal drug trafficking case, why are you in Colombia and Medellin, of all places? Just be smarter. And that goes for all of you. Just be smarter."
—Danny Gold [41:21]

• Wedding’s Status: Still wanted, $10 million bounty, multiple murder and trafficking charges.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It's all been downhill since Salt Lake, you could say.”
  —Sean Williams [42:53]

• “You got to hand it to this guy. He's like... falling up. That would be a great name for a biography about a snowboarder drug dealer.”
  —Sean Williams [25:15]

• “They’re like the Avengers except they keep messing up.”
  —Danny Gold [36:32]

• “A bigger indicator of a guy being a dirtbag than pretty much anything else is owning a restaurant nightclub in Miami.”
  —Danny Gold [32:38]

Timeline Highlights

| Timestamp | Segment | Summary | |-------------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:00–06:11 | Cold Open | Murders in Ontario & Niagara tied to drug shipments, Mr. Perfect introduced | | 07:21–13:53 | The Ryan Wedding Backstory | From rural Ontario to Olympics and into Vancouver’s criminal nightlife | | 13:54–20:10 | Early Busts & Prison Time | Gets busted after LA coke deal sting, forges cartel connections in prison | | 22:19–25:37 | Return to Canada, Major Moves | Establishes himself in Montreal’s organized crime scene | | 25:37–34:08 | High-Level Operations, Business Facades | Launders money via Canadian real estate, partners with notorious figures | | 29:12–36:42 | Wedding’s Vast Network & Collapsing Empire | Organization revealed, key players turn informant, violence in network | | 38:03–41:00 | Federal Raids & Wedding at Large | Sweeping arrests, FBI’s “treading powder” soundbites, Wedding remains fugitive | | 41:00–End | Garcia’s Assassination, Wrap-Up | Informant killed in Colombia; $10M bounty, unresolved manhunt |

Conclusion

This wild episode traces the transformation of Ryan Wedding from Olympic hopeful to ruthless, globe-trotting drug kingpin. The multi-layered criminal operation—spanning Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean—is exposed, including the hubris, fatal mistakes, and internal betrayals that bring down modern narco networks.

“Ryan Wedding: $10 million bounty on his head for info leading to his capture, which is kind of wild when you think about it. Still on the run, but for how long?”
—Danny Gold [42:53]

For More Information

• Podcast Website & Merch: underworldpod.com
• Bonus Episodes: Available via Patreon, iTunes & Spotify
• Contact: underworldpodcast@gmail.com

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