WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government on Wednesday announced new charges against alleged Canadian drug lord Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic athlete, and increased the reward for information leading to his capture to up to 15 million U.S. dollars.
At a press conference in Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi detailed the expanded case against Wedding, who is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
U.S. Department of Justice has added charges of witness tampering and intimidation, money laundering and drug trafficking against Wedding, said Bondi, adding that he is accused of running one of the world's "most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations."
U.S. officials also accused Wedding of murdering a federal witness in Colombia before the witness could testify against him.
Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a press release that Wedding, alongside nine individuals and nine entities closely associated with him, was sanctioned.
Wedding is responsible for "trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine through Colombia and Mexico for distribution in the United States and Canada," using cryptocurrency "to move and launder the proceeds of drug trafficking, concealing vast sums of illicit wealth," the press release said.
According to the release, Wedding "is an extremely violent criminal believed to be responsible for the murder of numerous people abroad, including U.S. citizens."
