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US authorities have released two new photographs of Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding as the FBI intensifies its search for the alleged drug lord.
One image, which the FBI said it received “recently,” shows Wedding, 44, lying shirtless in bed, with a large lion tattoo on his chest. The photo is believed to have been taken in Mexico this summer, a Los Angeles-based agency representative said on social media. mail Monday evening.
Separately, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico released on Monday what appeared to be an old photo of a fugitive from Thunder Bay, Ont., wearing a green T-shirt and a shaved head. Officials did not immediately provide details about when or where the driver's license or passport-style photo was taken.
Wedd, who competed for Canada as a snowboarder at the 2002 Utah Olympics, was added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list this year. Last month, the US increased the reward offered for information leading to his arrest to US$15 million, up from the previous US$10 million.
He is accused of running a bloody criminal empire that regularly transports tons of cocaine and fentanyl, as well as methamphetamine and heroin, from Mexico and South America to Los Angeles and then to destinations in the United States and Canada.
FBI Director Kash Patel recently called Wedding a “modern version” of notorious drug lords Pablo Escobar and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
The agency said Wedding was hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel, which was once led by Guzman.
New photos show different looks
Two recently released photos show very different looks for Wedding, with the old image showing a shaved, balding head and a full head of hair earlier this year.
The photo, taken in bed, appears to be the first image released by authorities that was taken either by Wededd himself or someone in his close circle. The FBI previously released two photographs taken in 2024 that appear to have been taken from afar, without his knowledge.
In each case, the FBI did not disclose where the photographs were taken or how they were obtained. CBC's Visual Investigations Unit determined that one image of Wedding in a blue cap and white T-shirt from 2024 was taken in the Santa Fe business district of Mexico City.
Last month, Akil Davis, deputy director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, told reporters that Wedding “Can change hair color, appearance and do anything to avoid capture.” The agency previously suggested that Wedding may have even undergone plastic surgery.
The former athlete stands six feet three inches tall and weighs between 230 and 250 pounds.
Investigators said he used the aliases James Conrad King and Jesse King, as well as a list of aliases including Public Enemy, Giant, Grande, Mexi and “El Jefe” (the boss).
“Someone like Ryan Wedding would stand out in Mexico,” Davis said, “and that's why we're asking for the public's help to try to identify and find him.” [and] arrest him.”
In a video posted online Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico urged the public to come forward with any information about Wedd's whereabouts.
“If you have seen him or have any information about him, your call is crucial,” the embassy said. said in a social media post in Spanish.
It is alleged that Wedding ordered dozens of murders around the world, including the shooting of an innocent Indian. pair in Caledon, Ontario, was mistakenly targeted in November 2023 over a stolen shipment of cocaine.
Ryan Wedding, the Canadian at the center of one of the world's largest international criminal investigations, continues to evade arrest, thanks in part, the FBI says, to protection from the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel and other criminal gangs in Mexico. He has been on the run since 2015, wanted in connection with numerous drug and conspiracy crimes, as well as ordering and organizing a murder.
Last month, Wedding and several of his accomplices were charged in connection with the January murder of Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, a Montreal native, drug dealer and FBI witness, in Medellin, Colombia.
Court documents reviewed by CBC News say Wedding considered Acebedo-Garcia a “rat” and posted a $5 million bond.US ionyou're on his head. Famous area of Toronto advocate associated with wedding and crime blogger they are both also charged with helping Wededd prepare the murder.
As part of the investigation, the FBI last month seized an ultra-rare Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR roadster in Miami with an estimated street value of $13 million. CBC reported The car – believed to be one of six ever built – was purchased by a Toronto jeweler accused of being one of Wedding's top money launderers.
CBC News senior reporter Thomas Daigle has extensive coverage of the search for Ryan Wedding. He can be reached by email at thomas.daigle@.cbc.ca.
