BREAKING: Alleged International Drug Kingpin Ryan Wedding Arrested in Thailand, Confirms FBI

 

Phuket, Thailand — January 24, 2026 (AP)

In a major victory for international law enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed today that Ryan Scott Wedding, a Canadian national accused of leading a sprawling global drug trafficking organization, has been arrested in southern Thailand.

The 38-year-old suspect—long sought by U.S. authorities for his alleged role in distributing massive quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine into the United States—was taken into custody on January 22 at a beachfront villa in Phuket, following a joint operation involving the FBI, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Thai National Police, and Europol.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Wedding is the reputed leader of “The Wolfpack,” a sophisticated criminal network that allegedly used encrypted communications, maritime smuggling routes, and cryptocurrency to move drugs and launder tens of millions of dollars across North America, Europe, and Asia.

“This arrest dismantles a key node in the global supply chain fueling America’s opioid crisis,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Ryan Wedding didn’t just traffic drugs—he trafficked death. Today, justice caught up with him.”

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A Long-Awaited Capture

Wedding had been a fugitive since 2023, when he first appeared on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. He previously slipped through authorities’ grasp during a brief detention in Thailand on immigration charges, but this time, U.S. officials acted swiftly after intelligence placed him back in the country under a false identity.

Thai police, acting on an INTERPOL Red Notice and real-time coordination with U.S. agents, surrounded the property early Wednesday morning and arrested Wedding without resistance. Authorities recovered multiple mobile devices, luxury watches, and documents linking him to offshore accounts.

He is now being held at a high-security detention center in Bangkok as U.S. officials initiate formal extradition proceedings—a process that could take weeks or months under Thai law.

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Facing Life in Prison

Wedding is charged in a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles with:

• Operating a continuing criminal enterprise (the so-called “Kingpin Statute”)
• Conspiracy to distribute over 500 grams of fentanyl
• International money laundering
• Use of communication facilities to facilitate drug trafficking

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years—and potentially life imprisonment—under U.S. federal law, particularly due to the volume of fentanyl involved, which prosecutors say was linked to overdose deaths across California, Washington, and Oregon.

Court documents allege that between 2019 and 2025, Wedding’s network imported more than 1.2 metric tons of synthetic opioids, much of it disguised as legitimate cargo or shipped via private yachts along the Pacific coast.

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Global Impact

The case highlights the increasingly transnational nature of the drug trade. Unlike traditional cartel leaders tied to specific regions, Wedding operated as a “freelance kingpin,” leveraging darknet vendors, drone drops, and shell companies registered in Dubai and Belize.

Europol credited the breakthrough to a decrypted message from a seized ANOM-style device—a reference to the FBI’s 2021 global sting that infiltrated encrypted criminal phones. That data reportedly revealed Wedding’s direct involvement in coordinating a failed 2024 shipment of 400 kg of fentanyl intercepted off the coast of San Diego.

“This wasn’t just a U.S. case—it was a global one,” said Europol’s Head of Operations, Marta Delgado. “Criminals like Wedding think borders protect them. They don’t.”

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What’s Next?

Canadian authorities have also expressed interest in prosecuting Wedding for gang-related offenses under Canada’s Criminal Code, but U.S. officials are prioritizing extradition due to the severity of the fentanyl charges.

Meanwhile, the FBI has launched a public appeal for additional information about The Wolfpack’s remaining operatives, suggesting more arrests may be imminent.

As the sun set over Phuket on Friday, the man once described in intelligence reports as “ghost-like” sat in a Thai jail cell—his empire, for now, in ruins.

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Reporting by Associated Press and U.S. Justice Department sources.
Ryan Wedding has not yet entered a plea and is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.