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  • Former Olympic snowboarder accused of running large drug trafficking group

    Former Olympic snowboarder accused of running large drug trafficking group

    A former Olympic snowboarder is accused of running a major transnational drug trafficking organization that shipped massive amounts of cocaine and allegedly hired hitmen to murder multiple people, federal officials said.

    Ryan Wedding, 43, a former Olympian from Canada who now resides in Mexico, is among 16 people charged in a federal indictment, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.

    The “prolific and ruthless” organized crime group shipped “literally tons of cocaine into the United States and Canada,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said during a press briefing.

    “They were killers,” said Estrada. “Anyone who got in their way they would target with violence. Including murder.”

    In this Feb. 14, 2002, file photo, Ryan Wedding of Canada competes in the qualifying round of the men’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding event during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games at the Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah.

    Adam Pretty/Getty Images, FILE

    Wedding allegedly ran the billion-dollar operation for the past 13 years from Mexico, Estrada said. The organization allegedly moved about 60 tons of cocaine per year, Estrada said.

    At one point, the group used the Los Angeles area as a hub for their operation, Estrada said. They allegedly used long-haul trucks to move shipments of cocaine from drug kitchens in Colombia to stash houses in Los Angeles and then would ship the cocaine to mostly Canada but also to the East Coast of the U.S., he said.

    Wedding and others allegedly made billions of dollars, which they moved around in the form of cryptocurrency, according to Estrada. They’re accused of laundering a quarter of a billion dollars from April to September, he said.

    A photo of narcotics prosecutors said were seized by law enforcement, which was included in a federal indictment.

    U.S. Department of Justice

    Law enforcement has seized more than one ton of cocaine, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, $255,400 in U.S. currency and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency as part of its investigation into the so-called Wedding Drug Trafficking Organization, the DOJ said.

    The indictment also alleges that the operation used contract killers to assassinate anyone they saw as getting in their way. The victims were all shot execution-style in Canada, so their loved ones could see them murdered, prosecutors said.

    The victims included two parents who were murdered in front of their daughter in a case of mistaken identity in 2023, Estrada said. The daughter was also shot multiple times but survived, he said.

    Another victim was killed over a drug debt in May, and a fourth was murdered in April, prosecutors said.

    PHOTO: Canadian former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, 43, who is a fugitive, is seen top left, with 15 other defendants who have been charged in a transnational drug trafficking operation, are displayed in Los Angeles, Oct. 17, 2024.

    Canadian former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, 43, who is a fugitive, is seen top left, with 15 other defendants who have been charged in a 16-count superseding indictment for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation, are displayed on a video monitor as federal, local, and international officials announce federal charges and arrests of alleged members at a news conference at the FBI offices in Los Angeles, Oct. 17, 2024.

    Damian Dovarganes/AP

    Charges in the 16-count superseding indictment include drug counts, criminal enterprise charges and murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and drug crime.

    Many of the defendants were arrested in recent weeks in California, Michigan, Florida, Canada, Colombia and Mexico, prosecutors said. Several are expected to make their court appearances in the coming week in Los Angeles, Michigan and Miami.

    Wedding is considered a fugitive and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for any information leading to his arrest, federal officials said.

    Wedding, whose aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” was previously charged in the original indictment and is the superseding indictment’s lead defendant, prosecutors said.

    He competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he placed 24th in the giant parallel slalom.

    If convicted of murder and attempted murder charges, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison, the DOJ said. The continuing criminal enterprise charges also carry a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison.

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  • Sean Diddy Combs in custody on racketeering sex trafficking charge

    Sean Diddy Combs in custody on racketeering sex trafficking charge

    Superstar producer and businessman Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will remain in jail after a judge denied his release on bail on Tuesday, facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy – accusations that follow numerous others grounded in events from 2009 onwards.

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    Combs pleaded not guilty Tuesday to racketeering and sex trafficking charges and was ordered to remain in custody pending a trial.

    Combs, 54, was arrested by federal agents in New York on Monday evening and accused in a just-unsealed three-count criminal indictment alleging he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence.

    Appearing in a Manhattan courtroom where many family members came to support him, the one-time music dignitary pleaded not guilty. His lawyer asked Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky to allow his release on bail.

    After a lengthy bail hearing in which the prosecution voiced concerns including the potential for witness tampering and flight risk, Judge Tarnofsky denied bail, saying she was concerned about a ‘power imbalance’ in the case that includes people she said are ‘subject to coercion’.

    She also cited concerns over his alleged propensity for anger, violence and substance abuse.

    Combs, who was wearing a black t-shirt, grey sweatpants and sneakers, did not noticeably react to the pre-trial detention ruling, which his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said would be appealed.

    Along with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, Combs is charged with one count of transporting victims across state lines to engage in prostitution.

    Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that although Combs is the only person indicted for now the investigation is ongoing.

    The indictment alleges that for decades Combs ‘abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct’.

    It accused him of running a criminal enterprise that carried out ‘sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice’.

    Combs allegedly engaged in a ‘persistent and pervasive pattern’ of verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of women, the indictment said.

    “On numerous occasions from at least in or about 2009 and continuing for years, Combs assaulted women by, among other things, striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them,” it said.

    Williams said female victims were forced to engage in extended sexual performances with male commercial sex workers in sessions called ‘Freak Offs’, which were planned and controlled by Combs and often videotaped.

    “The Freak Offs sometimes lasted days at a time… and often involved a variety of narcotics such as ketamine, ecstasy and GHB,” he said. “The indictment alleges that Combs threatened and coerced victims to get them to participate in the Freak Offs.”

    Bombshell suit

    The powerful music industry figure, who has gone by various monikers including Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was credited as key to hip hop’s journey from the streets to luxury clubs.

    Despite his efforts to cultivate the image of a smooth party kingpin and business magnate, a spate of lawsuits describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on women.

    The floodgates opened last year after singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.

    Also Read: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ ex Casandra Ventura reacts after assault video

    The pair met when Ventura was 19 and Combs was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a relationship.

    The bombshell suit was settled out of court, but a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims followed – including one in December by a woman who alleged Combs and others gang-raped her when she was 17.

    The rapper’s luxury homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by agents in March.

    Disturbing surveillance video emerged in May showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in the now-settled case.

    The prosecution referenced the footage’s content during the bail hearing, suggesting it is a key element of their case.

    Global fame with dark shadow

    Born Sean John Combs on November 4, 1969, in Harlem, the artist entered the industry as an intern in 1990 at Uptown Records, where he eventually became a talent director.

    In 1991, he promoted a celebrity basketball game and concert at the City College of New York that left nine people dead after a stampede and resulted in a string of lawsuits.

    He was fired from Uptown and founded his own label, Bad Boy Records.

    Also Read: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sued for sexual assault by former Bad Boy Records singer

    That began a quick ascent to the top of East Coast hip hop, along with his late disciple, The Notorious B.I.G.

    Combs boasted a number of major signed acts and production collaborations with the likes of Mary J Blige, Usher, Lil’ Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.

    He was also a Grammy-winning rapper in his own right, debuting with the chart-topping single ‘Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down’ and his album ‘No Way Out’.



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  • Wildlife trafficking ring killed at least 118 eagles, prosecutors say

    Wildlife trafficking ring killed at least 118 eagles, prosecutors say

    BILLINGS, Mont. — A man helped kill at least 118 eagles to sell their feathers and body parts on the black market as part of a long-running wildlife trafficking ring in the western U.S. that authorities allege killed thousands of birds, court filings show.

    Travis John Branson is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Sept. 18 for his role in the trafficking ring that operated on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana and elsewhere.

    Prosecutors say the Cusick, Washington man made between $180,000 and $360,000 from 2009 to 2021 selling bald and golden eagle parts illegally.

    “It was not uncommon for Branson to take upwards of nine eagles at a time,” prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana wrote in a Tuesday court filing. “Not only did Branson kill eagles, but he hacked them into pieces to sell for future profits.”

    Eagle wings, tails, feathers and other parts are highly sought after by Native Americans who use them in ceremonies.

    Prosecutors asked Judge Dana Christensen to sentence Branson to “significant imprisonment” and restitution totaling $777,250. That includes $5,000 for every dead eagle and $1,750 for each of 107 hawks that investigators said he and his co-conspirators killed.

    Branson’s attorney disputed the prosecutors’ claims and said they overstated the number of birds killed. The prosecution’s allegation that as many as 3,600 birds died came from a co-defendant, Simon Paul, who remains at large. Branson’s attorney suggested in court filings that the stated death toll has fueled public outcry over the case.

    “It is notable that Mr. Paul himself went from a 3,600 to 1,000 bird estimate,” Federal Defender Andrew Nelson wrote in a Tuesday filing, referring to a statement Paul made to authorities in a March 13, 2021, traffic stop.

    Nelson also said restitution for the hawks was not warranted since those killings were not included in last year’s grand jury indictment. He said Branson had no prior criminal history and asked for a sentence of probation.

    Branson and Paul grew up in the Flathead Reservation area. Since their indictment, Paul has been hiding in Canada to evade justice, according to Nelson.

    Paul’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.

    Investigators documented the minimum number of eagles and hawks killed through Branson’s text messages, prosecutors said. Two years of his messages were not recovered, leading prosecutors to say the “full scope of Branson’s killings is not captured.”

    Government officials have not revealed any other species of birds killed.

    Bald and golden eagles are sacred to many Native Americans. U.S. law prohibits anyone without a permit from killing, wounding or disturbing eagles, or taking their nests or eggs.

    Illegal shootings are a leading cause of golden eagle deaths, according to a recent government study.

    Members of federally recognized tribes can get feathers and other bird parts legally through from the National Eagle Repository in Colorado and non-government repositories in Oklahoma and Phoenix. There’s a yearslong backlog of requests at the national repository.

    Branson pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy, wildlife trafficking and two counts of trafficking federally protected bald and golden eagles. He faced a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the most serious charge, conspiracy. Under a plea deal, prosecutors said they would seek to dismiss additional trafficking charges.

    Federal guidelines call for a sentence of roughly three to four years in prison for Branson, they said.

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