Seven Canadians reportedly tied to a Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged-cocaine kingpin were key in the execution of an informant this January, law officials say.
The Canadians from Ontario, Quebec and Alberta were all named by the U.S. Justice Department, the FBI and the RCMP Wednesday as being reportedly involved in Ryan Wedding’s alleged drug empire.
The 44-year-old Wedding, a snowboarder who was living in Coquitlam, B.C., when he suited up for his country at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list earlier this year.
He is reportedly living in Mexico and has ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the largest drug trafficking organizations based in Mexico, which has been listed as a foreign terrorist organization in the U.S. and Canada.
A US$15-million reward has been issued for information leading to his arrest and/or prosecution.
The seven Canadians announced as arrested and charged Wednesday brings the total number of people arrested and indicted in connection with Wedding to 36. The seven are accused of aiding Wedding in tracking down and facilitating the murder of the key witness.
Two other Canadians wanted by international authorities are still at large, officials said, along with Wedding and another alleged co-conspirator facing charges under the new indictment.
Here are the allegations against the seven Canadians. They have not been tested in court.
Paradkar, 62, of Thornhill, Ont., was a lawyer for Wedding, a newly unsealed indictment revealed.
In it, officials allege Paradkar advised Wedding to murder the key witness so that he and Andrew Clark, his reported second-in-command, would avoid extradition from Mexico on criminal charges against them.
Wedding is alleged to have put a bounty on the witness and enlisted people to kill the witness, who had information related to a 2024 drug trafficking case against Wedding, the indictment indicates.
The witness was shot five times while at a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, on Jan. 31, and died instantly, according to the indictment.
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Paradkar is also accused of providing Wedding with court documents and evidentiary materials from the 2024 criminal case they would not otherwise have access to.
Ohna, 40, of Laval, Que., is accused of being a hired hitman and facilitating the murder of the victim.
Ohna was involved in tracking down and finding him, the indictment alleges. He found and provided Wedding with identifying information for one of the victim’s associates.
On or after Jan. 31, Ohna contacted Clark and requested roughly CAD$300,000 for his role in the murder.
He was reportedly given $150,000 and 30 kilograms of cocaine as payment.
Bal, 31, of Mississauga, Ont., was the operator of a Canadian urban news outlet dubbed “the Dirty News.”
He was reportedly paid $10,000 on Oct. 4, 2024, by an associate not to post about Wedding and Clark, and was instead given a photograph of the witness and was paid to post it so that he could be found and killed, the indictment claims.
On Nov. 5, 2024, Bal reportedly posted a story on Instagram depicting the victim and wrote: “This guy single handedly (rat emoji) out one of the strongest underworld networks that this (earth emoji) has seen Good chance he’ll never be found again.”
On Jan. 31, Bal posted another Instagram depicting a photograph of the restaurant in Medellín and the bottom part of a body lying on the ground with a caption that read: “[Victim A] down…” and “BOOM! Headshot.”
Chapman, 33, of Calgary, Alta., allegedly paid Bal for his post, the indictment states.
He was reportedly involved with Ohna and other associates in tracking down the witness.
Zitoun, 35, of Edmonton, Alta., attempted to find the witness in Medellín and Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the indictment alleges.
He was hired in January by Clark to find the witness for $10,000 plus expenses. On orders from Clark and Wedding, he travelled to Colombia and Saudi Arabia to find him.
Zitoun was offered the contract to kill him, which he declined, the indictment claims.
Following his trip to Mecca, he was paid $40,000 for his attempts to find the witness.
Basora-Hernandez, a 31-year-old Montreal resident and reggaeton musician, is accused of providing the witness’s contact information to help Wedding and his alleged co-conspirators locate him.
He was contacted on or around Nov. 20, 2024, and provided the victim’s cellphone number and email address in exchange for $500 and $1,000.
On or before Dec. 3, Basora-Hernandez informed Wedding, under the guise of being an attorney, and Paradkar, he was approached by Canadian law enforcement seeking the victim’s whereabouts.
A 37-year-old Toronto resident, Sokolovski was described in the indictment as a professional poker player, jeweller and procurer.
He allegedly managed and laundered the network’s drug proceeds and acquired luxury items for Wedding and Clark.
Aside from reportedly laundering the proceeds, which were transferred to his cryptocurrency account, Sokolovski is accused of making a bejewelled necklace for Ohna as a reward for his role in the victim’s murder.
Wedding and another Canadian citizen, who was arrested by Mexican authorities last fall, are accused of directing the Nov. 20, 2023, murders of two members of a family in Caledon, Ont., in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment. Ontario Provincial Police have said the family was “completely innocent” and mistakenly targeted.
Wedding faces separate “unresolved” drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015, the RCMP said last October.
He was previously convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010, federal records show. U.S. authorities believe that after Wedding’s release, he resumed drug trafficking and has been protected by the Sinaloa Cartel.
— With files from Sean Boynton
