The case against Ryan Wedding has always read like fiction. On Friday, it reached its final chapter.
Wedding’s arrest, announced shortly after 9 a.m. comes after U.S. authorities accused him of masterminding a transnational cocaine operation, ordering multiple murders in Ontario, and hiding under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.
Since being publicly named in a U.S. indictment in October 2024, the case has grown to include shootings across the GTA, a $15-million FBI reward, the seizure of luxury assets, and a widening circle of Wedding’s Canadian facilitators — all pointing to what the RCMP describe as one of the “largest organized crime threats” facing Canada.
For more than a year, Wedding has been living a life on the run.
Here’s a timeline of all the events leading up to his capture.
October 2024: The indictment
The public reveal of the case began in October 2024.
On Oct. 17, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Wedding and alleged associate Andrew Clark were accused of directing the Nov. 20, 2023 murders of Jagtar Singh Sidhu, 57, and Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu, 55, in Caledon. Their daughter, Jaspreet Kaur Sidhu, then 28, survived.
At the time, OPP Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns said the family “were completely innocent,” and Peel police said the shooting appeared to be a case of mistaken identity.
The Caledon killings were later linked to at least five other shootings over a span of just more than two weeks under a joint OPP-Peel investigation dubbed “Project Midnight.”
At the time, OPP confirmed it had begun working with the FBI earlier that year after being notified the U.S. agency had information about who allegedly ordered the killings.
Wedding, Clark, and a third suspect, Malik Damion Cunningham, are also charged in the April 1, 2024 murder of 29-year-old Randy Fader in Niagara Falls.
They are further accused of directing the May 18, 2024 killing of 39-year-old Mohammed Zafar, who was found suffering from gunshot wounds in his driveway near Mississauga Road and Sandalwood Parkway and later died in hospital.
U.S. District Attorney Martin Estrada said Wedding, described as an “Olympic athlete-turned-drug lord,” contracted the killings to “insulate himself” from criminal activity.
He is facing charges in connection with the Ontario murders in the U.S. because officials allege that they were carried out in furtherance of a criminal enterprise that used Los Angeles as a hub.
March 2025: FBI most wanted
In the October indictment, U.S. prosecutors named Wedding as the lead defendant among 16 people accused of operating the transnational drug network.
Officials said more than a ton of cocaine, firearms, ammunition, US$255,400 in cash, and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency were seized during the investigation.
Wedding has been dubbed with many names including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy.”
By March 2025, the FBI placed Wedding on its Ten Most Wanted list and announced a US$10-million reward for information leading to his capture, later raising it to US$15 million.
At the time, LAPD Chief of Detectives Alan Hamilton said the money was meant to send a message.
“The increase in the reward should make it clear there is nowhere safe for Wedding to hide. We will find you, disrupt your networks and bring you to justice,” he said.
June 2025: An active network in Canada
In June 2025, RCMP Chief Supt. Chris Leather said elements of Wedding’s network were still active in this country.
“There certainly are elements of his network that remain in place,” he said.
Later that summer, the FBI said it believed Wedding was in central Mexico, focusing its search on the state surrounding Mexico City.
By late 2025, the hunt became more visible and public with frequent updates from federal authorities.
November 2025: Luxury seizures worth millions
In November of last year, the FBI announced it had seized an “exceptionally rare” Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR hypercar in Los Angeles, estimated to be worth about US$13 million, alleging it was linked to Wedding’s operation.
December 2025: Newly surfaced photo
In early December, the FBI released a new selfie image of Wedding, appearing to show him lying in bed with a large lion tattoo across his chest.
Weeks later towards the end of that month, Mexican authorities raided four properties and seized 62 high-end motorcycles, vehicles, drugs, artwork, ammunition, documents, and two Olympic medals. By the end of the month, the FBI said the motorcycles alone were worth roughly $40 million.
December 2025: The cocaine lawyer
As the net closed around Wedding, court cases in Ontario kept tying the alleged operation back to the GTA.
Also in December 2025, Thornhill lawyer Deepak Paradkar dubbed the “cocaine lawyer” in court documents, was charged for extradition to the U.S. over his alleged role in the organization.
Prosecutors say he was an “integral member” of a violent, well-financed network and used his position to help Wedding access drug transport networks and gather intelligence after police seizures.
He was later released on $5.25 million bail.
January 2026: GTA connections deepen
Earlier this month, Toronto jeweller Rolan Sokolovski was questioned in court, with prosecutors alleging he acted as a “de facto banker” and money launderer for Wedding’s organization through his downtown business, Diamond Tsar, located at Queen Street East and Victoria Street.
As of today Sokolovski’s court proceedings remain ongoing.
Today: The arrest
For investigators, it marks the end of the hunt.
For prosecutors, it is only the beginning of what is expected to be a long legal saga.
“This individual, his organization and the Sinaloa cartel poured narcotics into the streets of North America and killed too many of our youth and too many of our citizens and that ends today,” Patel said at Friday’s news conference.
With files from the Canadian Press, Codi Wilson, Phil Tsekouras, and Bryann Aguilar.
