Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Marriage ceremony, an alleged drug kingpin who’s been accused of orchestrating a number of murders, was arrested in Mexico and brought to the U.S., Justice Division officers introduced Friday.
Marriage ceremony, a 44-year-old Canadian nationwide, was taken into custody in Mexico Metropolis on Thursday evening, FBI Director Kash Patel stated at a information convention at Southern California’s Ontario Worldwide Airport east of Los Angeles. In the course of the information convention, Patel gestured to a aircraft behind him and instructed reporters Marriage ceremony had been taken off the aircraft.
“Simply to let you know how unhealthy of a man Ryan Marriage ceremony is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the most important narco-trafficker in fashionable instances,” Patel stated. “He’s a modern-day ‘El Chapo,’ he’s a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he might evade justice.”
“El Chapo” is an alias for Joaquin Guzman, a onetime chief of the infamous Mexican drug ring often called the Sinaloa Cartel who’s serving a life sentence within the U.S. In response to the FBI, Marriage ceremony additionally used aliases, together with “El Jefe,” “Large” and “Public Enemy.”
Patel additionally stated one other fugitive who was arrested in Mexico final week, Alejandro Rosales Castillo, was delivered to the U.S. on the identical aircraft as Marriage ceremony and can be taken east later Friday. Patel stated Castillo’s arrest wasn’t associated to Marriage ceremony’s apprehension.
Patel instructed reporters he was in Mexico on a beforehand deliberate journey. He stated the Mexican authorities labored with the U.S. to apprehend Marriage ceremony.
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“This was an amazing operation that got here collectively by means of interagency success,” Patel stated.
Patel stated he would not present extra particulars about Marriage ceremony’s arrest “to safeguard the integrity of the continued investigation.” He declined to touch upon the $15 million reward that was being supplied by the U.S. for Marriage ceremony.
When officers elevated the reward in November, Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi described Marriage ceremony’s alleged operation as “some of the prolific and violent drug-trafficking organizations on this world.”
Akil Davis, the assistant director in control of the FBI’s Los Angeles area workplace, stated Marriage ceremony was anticipated to make his preliminary look in federal court docket Monday morning. Davis stated investigators labored for over a 12 months to arrest Marriage ceremony.
“Ryan Marriage ceremony tormented a number of individuals and a number of other households that may by no means be the identical, however at this time, they get the justice that they sought,” Davis stated.
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Marriage ceremony, who competed within the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake Metropolis, has been accused of working a significant drug trafficking community that moved cocaine from Colombia by means of Mexico to the U.S. and Canada. Patel stated in a social media submit Friday that Marriage ceremony was working his alleged operation as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel and that Marriage ceremony believed to have been hiding out in Mexico for over a decade.
Marriage ceremony was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Needed Fugitives listing final 12 months.
In November, Marriage ceremony was accused of putting a “multimillion-dollar bounty” on a federal witness who was concerned in a narcotics case towards him.
In response to the FBI, Marriage ceremony and his second-in-command Andrew Clark, 34, allegedly additionally ordered the killings of two members of a Canadian household in 2023 in retaliation for a stolen drug cargo.
Clark was extradited to the U.S. from Mexico final 12 months.
The pair are additionally accused of directing the killing of one other particular person in 2024 over a drug debt, in response to the FBI.
