The U.S. Department of State has announced an increase in the reward offered for information leading to the arrest of Canadian drug trafficker Ryan James Widing, raising it to $15 million.
The department explained that the reward was increased from the previously set $10 million as part of the narcotics control program coordinated with the FBI and authorities in Canada and Mexico.
According to the State Department, Widing and his associates organized the smuggling of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Southern California to Canada between January and August 2024.
The group is also accused of violent crimes and murders, including the killing of two members of the same family in Ontario, Canada, in November 2023, and another murder in Niagara Falls, New York, in May 2024.
Ryan Widing is a former Canadian athlete who represented his country in the 2002 Winter Olympics in snowboarding competitions. Several years after retiring from sports, he became involved in drug trafficking and is currently residing in Mexico.
His name was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in March 2025.