Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, is currently facing criminal allegations for acting as the leader of an international cocaine trafficking organization.
Wedding, who represented Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, has been accused of overseeing a narcotics trafficking syndicate that was responsible for the illegal importation of large quantities of cocaine from Colombia into the United States and Canada through Mexico. In order to facilitate payments, the operation purportedly employed the stablecoin Tether (USDT).
The large-scale cocaine shipments were allegedly engineered by the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and 15 other defendants, as disclosed by the indictments. The drug transactions were purportedly paid for using Tether, one of the most commonly used cryptocurrencies.
QR codes served as the interface for USDT transactions. The authorities have reported that this billion-dollar operation involved violent acts, the executions of which Wedding is purportedly responsible for. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Tether is currently in widespread use in the global digital asset trading market.
In the words of the Department of Justice, the case resulted in the seizure of over a kilograms of cocaine, firearms, and $3.2 million in cryptocurrency. In addition, the United States government confiscated approximately 1,800 kgs (1.8 metric tons) of cocaine and $255,400 in currency.
Officials have stated that the Canadian Olympic snowboarder, Andrew Clarke, and others were involved in a drug-smuggling operation in Canada. In order to move Colombian cocaine from Mexico to North America, this organization utilized vehicles and storage residences.
Allegedly, the operation has committed numerous murders in order to safeguard its illicit enterprise, including numerous gunshots in the Greater Toronto Area. There is a $50,000 reward available for the capture of Wedding, who is considered a fugitive from justice by U.S. authorities. As a result, the erstwhile athlete continues to be unrestricted.
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