Narco Kingpin and MotoGP Bike Hoarder Finally Arrested After a Decade on the Run

Ex-Olympian, Ryan Wedding, has been caught and arrested in Mexico after a decade on the run. Here's everything we know so far.

Photo by: ABC News

By: Robbie Bacon

Jan 24, at 7:18am ET

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Until last month, I'd never heard of ex-Olympian turned cartel kingpin, Ryan Wedding. But when police discover a $40 million collection of rare motorcycles, including nine GP bikes, it doesn't take long to get my, or any other motorcyclist's, attention. But after a decade on the run, Wedding's time as a free man appears to be up.

Wedding was just arrested and charged with witness tampering and intimidation, murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking. US Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that Wedding was flown to the US from Mexico after his arrest. In a post on X, she wrote, "Wedding was flown to the United States, where he will face justice."

The 44-year-old was wanted by the FBI on charges of running a transnational drug trafficking organization responsible for importing about 60 metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles. Wedding used semi-trucks to transport the product from Mexico to LA, earning himself a place on the FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted" list of fugitives. In March 2025. FBI director, Kash Patel, compared Wedding to Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who led the Sinaloa cartel—Mexico's most powerful cartel.

After the arrest, FBI Director, Kash Patel, said on X, "Wedding is believed to have been hiding in Mexico for over a decade - and has been wanted on charges for cocaine trafficking and murder since 2024." Wedding is charged in the death of a federal witness who was supposed to testify against him. It's alleged that Wedding used a Canadian website to track the witness and his wife down before the witness was fatally shot at a restaurant. Authorities said that Wedding had "placed a bounty" on the witness's head.

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Wedding had quite a way to go before reaching the levels of Escobar or Guzmán, but he did have a significant link to the Sinaloa cartel. It's thought that the cartel had been protecting Wedding during his time in Mexico, where he might have been spending the last decade on the run. At the time of writing, it's unknown where abouts in Mexico Wedding was captured, only that it took place on the night of January 22.

If Wedding has been hiding in Mexico, it'd explain why, along with $40 million worth of exotic two-wheeled machinery, police also seized two Olympic medals, two vehicles, drugs, and artwork at various locations in Mexico City. The question is, what's going to happen to what could be the greatest private motorcycle collection in the world?