The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have arrested Deepak Paradkar, a Canadian defense attorney, as part of a sweeping operation targeting Ryan Wedding, a fugitive former Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug trafficker. Paradkar is accused of advising Wedding to kill a witness in an attempt to have a criminal case dismissed, according to authorities.
Wedding, who is still at large on multiple charges including murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and drug trafficking, was described by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli as being advised by Paradkar to kill a witness. Essayli also claimed that Paradkar recommended Wedding to have a witness killed in an attempt to have a case dismissed. The indictment against Paradkar alleges that he advised Wedding and his accomplice, Andrew Clark, that the murder of a witness would benefit them by causing the federal indictment against them in Wedding I and related extradition proceedings to be dismissed.
Paradkar was also alleged to have allowed Clark to “covertly” listen in on a conversation he was having with another accused suspect. The indictment further claims that while Clark and another defendant discussed killing another co-accused, Paradkar advised them to “discuss the matter on a different chat without him present and to delete any and all discussion of the murder plot.” Additionally, the DOJ criticized Paradkar for allowing Wedding and his associates to eavesdrop on privileged communications between Paradkar and his other clients, several of whom Wedding wished to murder.
Wedding, 44, is described by federal officials as an “extremely violent criminal believed to be responsible for the murder of numerous people abroad.” The FBI asserts that he has ordered dozens of murders in North America and Latin America. Wedding is also accused of orchestrating the January 2025 murder of a federal witness, who was shot and killed in a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia, after being targeted in a bid to dismiss charges against him and his drug-trafficking ring.
The DOJ claims that Wedding placed a bounty on the victim’s head, thinking their death would lead to the dismissal of charges against him and the drug-trafficking ring he is allegedly the head of. Federal officials raised the reward for Wedding’s capture to $15 million on Wednesday, signaling the urgency of the situation and the significant threat he poses to public safety. The indictment further reveals that Wedding and Clark coordinated a November 2023 double homicide in Ontario involving an innocent couple in a mistaken-identity killing, according to the FBI. Wedding and Clark are also accused of coordinating the murder of another person in May over a drug debt.
The murder and criminal enterprise charges against Wedding carry a mandatory minimum penalty of life in a federal prison. This case has raised concerns about the role of legal professionals in facilitating criminal activities and the potential for abuse of the attorney-client privilege. Authorities continue to hunt for Wedding, who is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is described as a top target in the fight against transnational organized crime.