The FBI has announced the arrest of a man from Vancouver in connection with an alleged drug smuggling ring involving Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who is now a fugitive.
According to the latest update from the FBI, Rasheed Pascua Hossain was apprehended shortly after the authorities charged seven other Canadians for extradition to the United States in relation to the same smuggling operation.
Hossain had a federal arrest warrant issued against him last month, facing charges that include conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine, conspiracy to export cocaine, and conspiracy to launder money.
While a spokesperson for B.C. RCMP could not confirm where Hossain was arrested, Wedding, the alleged mastermind behind the operation, remains on the FBI’s most wanted list and is believed to be evading capture in Mexico.
U.S. law enforcement has likened Wedding to a modern-day Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombian drug lord, although the allegations against him have yet to be tried in Canadian courts, which will have jurisdiction over any potential extradition requests.