A Calgary ex-junior hockey player has been apprehended on extradition warrants linked to an FBI initiative aimed at a purported Canadian drug kingpin sought for murder and other charges. Allistair Chapman is charged with allegedly supplying a photo to a co-accused individual and compensating him to publish it on Dirty News website, with the intention to locate and eliminate a witness before testifying against Ryan Wedding, the alleged head of an international criminal group.
Chapman, aged 33, was arrested in Calgary and faces extradition to California for charges such as conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit murder, and involvement in organized crime activities. Ten individuals, seven of whom are Canadian residents, were detained as part of Operation Giant Slalom, an international probe into several murders, including that of a cooperating witness, in addition to cocaine trafficking and smuggling.
Ryan Wedding, the primary subject of the investigation, is a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder-turned-fugitive listed on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list, believed to be residing in Mexico. An arrest was made based on a federal grand jury indictment that implicates Chapman as a member of the “Wedding Criminal Enterprise,” a billion-dollar drug trafficking entity operating in Mexico, Colombia, Canada, and the U.S., recognized as the primary cocaine supplier to Canada.
US officials, including FBI director Kash Patel and RCMP commissioner Michael Duheme, held a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., to announce the arrests. According to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Wedding, currently in Mexico, oversees a prominent and violent drug trafficking organization globally, suspected of orchestrating multiple murders, including that of a witness in a 2024 federal drug case.
Accusations against Chapman include providing a photo of a victim to aid in locating and assassinating the individual. The victim was fatally shot in a Colombian restaurant in January. Wedding and his associates are accused of trafficking tons of cocaine annually from Colombia through Mexico to North America. Authorities aim to expose the network of individuals supporting Ryan Wedding, as stated by John Hurley, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Chapman was arrested in Calgary on an extradition warrant endorsed by a Quebec judge, appearing in court before Court of King’s Bench Justice Shane Parker with legal representation from Department of Justice lawyer Colin LaRoche for the prosecution and Chad Haggerty for the defense. Chapman is presently detained under the Extradition Act and is scheduled for a court appearance in Calgary on Friday, with no comments provided by Haggerty.
Chapman has a prior law enforcement history, previously accused in 2018 of leading a Calgary-based organized crime group involved in international drug and firearm trafficking, although not facing murder-related charges at the time. Project Arbour, a joint operation involving Calgary police, RCMP, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, resulted in 46 charges against six individuals, including Chapman. However, all charges were dropped in July 2020 due to a breach of Chapman’s Charter right to a speedy trial. Chapman, a former AJHL hockey player who competed with the Calgary Royals and the Drayton Valley Thunder, remains entangled in legal proceedings.