Mexico City, Mexico — The Mexican government announced on Wednesday that it seized 62 high-end motorcycles and drugs linked to a Canadian ex-Olympic athlete wanted by the U.S. FBI and allegedly connected to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Through a joint statement, Mexican security agencies indicated that agents executed four raids on properties in Mexico City and the State of Mexico, “related to an ex-Olympic athlete who is one of the 10 most wanted fugitives by U.S. authorities.”
They explained that as part of bilateral cooperation to detain individuals required by authorities from other countries, lines of investigation were developed regarding the foreign national related to transnational criminal activities.
It was thus that the agencies identified four properties in the Mexican capital and the neighboring State of Mexico, and after gathering sufficient evidence, a control judge granted the order to intervene in the premises.
Following this, the statement indicated, the residences were raided where doses of methamphetamine and marijuana, 62 high-end motorcycles, two vehicles, works of art, two Olympic medals, cartridges, a charger, and various documents were found.
The properties were sealed and placed under the custody of the authorities, while the seized items were made available to the Public Ministry agent.
The operations involved agents from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), the Secretariat of National Defense (Defensa), and the National Guard (GN).
Just on December 8, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico informed that the FBI was seeking Canadian Ryan Wedding, an ex-Olympic athlete who operates from Mexico in alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) and “leads a violent organization dedicated to cocaine trafficking.”
In a video shared on its social media, the U.S. Embassy indicated that Wedding is “one of the FBI’s most wanted criminals.”
“There is a reward of up to 15 million dollars for information leading to his capture. Your report can make a difference; if you have information about James, contact the U.S. Embassy,” said the diplomatic representation headed by Ronald Johnson.
The U.S. Embassy noted in the message that it believes Wedding “is hiding in Mexico” and offers the aforementioned amount “for information that allows his detention.”
On November 19, the U.S. government announced that it increased the reward from 10 to 15 million dollars for information leading to the capture of Wedding, an ex-Olympic snowboarder accused of drug trafficking from Mexico.
Additionally, the Donald Trump administration imposed financial sanctions against the Canadian, along with nine individuals and nine linked companies.
Wedding, who is on the FBI’s list of the 10 most wanted fugitives, represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (Utah, United States).
According to the State Department, after his sports career he dedicated himself to drug trafficking, and his last known base of operations is Mexico.
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