How a flashy lawyer and an alleged Canadian drug lord may have taken down an FBI witness

November 21, 2025

A former Olympic snowboarder, Ryan Wedding, allegedly orchestrated the assassination of an FBI witness in Colombia after his lawyer, Deepak Paradkar, advised that killing the witness would result in case dismissal. The murder was the culmination of an elaborate tracking operation involving multiple individuals across several countries, including a reggaeton musician, a crime blog operator, and a Colombian madame who helped locate the witness. Wedding, who represented Canada in snowboarding at the 2002 Winter Olympics, now allegedly heads a billion-dollar-per-year drug trafficking network and remains at large with a $15 million bounty on his head.

Who is affected

Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia (the murdered FBI witness)
Acebedo-Garcia's wife
Ryan Wedding (former Olympic snowboarder, alleged drug lord, currently at large)
Deepak Paradkar (Toronto-area lawyer, in custody)
19 named defendants in the indictment
Ten defendants currently in custody
Drug trafficking couriers who were arrested
Atna Ohna (Montreal organized crime leader)
Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez (Colombian madame)
Allistair Chapman (Calgary man, arrested)
Gursewak Singh Bal (crime blog operator, arrested)
Edwin Basora-Hernandez (reggaeton artist)
The Sinaloa drug cartel
Canadian and US law enforcement authorities

What action is being taken

Ten defendants are in custody facing extradition to the US
Canadian and US authorities have placed a $15 million bounty on Ryan Wedding's capture
Authorities have warned that Wedding may undergo plastic surgery to evade capture
The US Justice Department has unsealed a 54-page FBI indictment

Why it matters

This case exposes the inner workings of an alleged billion-dollar-per-year multinational criminal enterprise and demonstrates how organized crime networks can corrupt legal professionals and span multiple countries. The involvement of a lawyer allegedly advising his client to murder a witness represents a severe breach of legal ethics and obstruction of justice. The case illustrates the extreme lengths to which criminal organizations will go to silence witnesses and intimidate others, using violence as a warning to anyone who might cooperate with authorities. Additionally, it highlights the dramatic fall of a former Olympic athlete who allegedly transformed from representing his country on the world stage to becoming what authorities describe as a "modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar."

What's next

The ten defendants in custody are facing extradition to the US
None of the defendants have entered a plea yet
Authorities continue searching for Ryan Wedding, who they believe is hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa drug cartel

Read full article from source: BBC