Motorcycles worth $40m seized from FBI most-wanted Olympic snowboarder

Mexican officials have seized $40m (£30m) worth of motorcycles belonging to Ryan Wedding, the Canadian former Olympic snowboarder accused of running a massive drug trafficking operation.

The vehicles were recovered by Mexican authorities in multiple raids, the FBI said in a statement, adding that the seizures were made with assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Apparently, among the motorcycles there are rare racing models. Last month, officials seized a $13 million Mercedes hypercar from Vedid, who is believed to be living under the protection of Mexican drug cartels.

Officials say Wedding is among the largest drug traffickers in North America.

According to a statement by Mexican authorities, the seizures occurred at four properties in and around Mexico City.

Officials seized 62 motorcycles, many of which appeared to be Ducatis, according to photographs released by the FBI.

Other items seized included luxury paintings, works of art, drugs and two Olympic gold medals.

It is unclear who owns the medals. Wedding competed for Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics but did not win any medals. He finished 24th in the men's parallel giant slalom cross-country skiing event.

Last month, the FBI seized a rare 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR that was valued at $13 million.

Wedding is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and has a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. Officials in the US compared him to other notorious drug lords in Latin America, including Pablo Escobar in Colombia and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in Mexico.

His aliases include “El Jefe,” “The Giant,” “The Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King” and “Jesse King,” the FBI said.

Officials say he began his crime spree after being released from a US federal prison in 2011, where he was serving a sentence for cocaine distribution.

Authorities say he ordered dozens of murders around the world, including in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

In the United States, he also faces charges of witness tampering and intimidation, money laundering and drug trafficking.