Ryan Wedding, former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin, expected in court

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Ryan James Wedding, former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned FBI fugitive, is expected in a Southern California courtroom on Monday.

Wedding is accused of running a criminal enterprise that has smuggled six metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semitrucks from Mexico. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Ana after his arrest last week.

FBI Director Kash Patel has described Wedding “as a modern day ‘El Chapo'” and “modern-day Pablo Escobar.”

The FBI says Wedding and others are charged for their roles in a transnational organized crime network that shipped large amounts of cocaine across the southern border, through Southern California and then up to Canada.

Wedding was previously indicted in Los Angeles federal court on multiple federal charges, including running a continuing criminal enterprise, committing murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and assorted drug crimes.

A superseding indictment was filed in November, alleging that Wedding ordered the killing of a witness who was set to testify against him in a federal drug trafficking case, according to the Justice Department.

Wedding’s arrest comes after a monthslong search and investigation. Last month, Mexican authorities seized a large number motorcycles believed to be owned by Wedding. The motorcycles have an estimated value of approximately $40 million.

In November, the FBI seized a rare, $13 million 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster as part of their ongoing manhunt.

The U.S. Department of State was offering a $15 million reward for information regarding Wedding, who is alleged to be a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to Patel.

Prior to starting his alleged criminal enterprise, Wedding, whose alleged aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy,” was a professional snowboarder and competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

ABC News contributed to this report.