The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) announced the arrest of Ryan Wedding on charges of cocaine trafficking and murder. Wedding allegedly managed an international drug trafficking operation that used cryptocurrencies to move and launder the proceeds.
The event marked the continuation of the growing importance that digital assets, and stablecoin payments in particular, have in facilitating illicit finance.
The FBI ends a manhunt that lasted ten years
According to the FBI, authorities arrested Wedding, a 44-year-old former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, on Thursday night. The arrest ended a manhunt lasting over a decade, which had made him one of the most wanted fugitives by the Department of Justice.
According to reports from Mexican authorities, Wedding surrendered at the US embassy in Mexico City.
The arrest stems from Wedding's alleged role in an international drug trafficking operation under one of Mexico's largest criminal organizations. Authorities also stated that Wedding used several aliases, including 'El Jefe' and 'Public Enemy.'
"He would have managed and participated in an international drug trafficking operation that regularly shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, passing through Mexico and southern California, to the United States and Canada - as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel," said FBI Director Kash Patel in a social media post.
In 2024, the FBI announced a reward of 15 million dollars for useful information leading to the capture of Wedding.
Two months ago, Prosecutor Bill Essayli also explained in detail during a press conference that Wedding would have been responsible for the murder of a witness, shot five times in the head at a restaurant in Colombia last January.
Authorities also emphasized that Wedding's operations used cryptocurrencies to launder money and transfer proceeds across borders.
USDT wallets used to conceal proceeds
According to the indictment, Wedding's organization would have hidden a significant portion of the profits obtained from the sale of cocaine using US dollars, Canadian dollars, and cryptocurrencies.
Authorities stated that the organization relied on a sophisticated system based on Tether to achieve this goal.
The scheme involved breaking down large sums into multiple smaller transactions. These funds were then routed through various intermediary USDT wallets before converging into a central Tether wallet, presumably controlled by Wedding.
The indictment also revealed that in November 2024, another defendant received about 2 million Colombian pesos to carry out the activities. The pesos would have been converted from cryptocurrencies as payment for about 300 kilograms of cocaine.
The Wedding case is just one of many that have emerged recently. Earlier this month, the DOJ charged a Venezuelan citizen with using crypto in a 1 billion dollar money laundering scheme.
Meanwhile, crimes involving cryptocurrencies reached an all-time high in 2025.
According to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, addresses linked to illicit activities received at least 154 billion dollars last year, marking a 162% increase compared to 2024.