A Calgary resident accused of assisting alleged Canadian drug kingpin Ryan Wedding in orchestrating the killing of an FBI informant made a court appearance on Friday following his arrest on an extradition warrant. Allistair Chapman, 33, was among ten individuals apprehended this week as part of a significant FBI probe into an international drug trafficking syndicate reportedly led by Wedding.
Wedding, the primary focus of the investigation, is a former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder turned fugitive, currently residing in Mexico according to the FBI’s most wanted list. Chapman is purportedly linked to the “Wedding Criminal Enterprise,” identified in the indictment as the primary cocaine supplier to Canada, with operations spanning Mexico, Colombia, Canada, and the U.S.
FBI Director Kash Patel, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme disclosed case specifics during a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., unveiling an unsealed federal grand jury indictment outlining accusations against Wedding and his associates. The reward for intel leading to Wedding’s capture has been raised to $15 million US.
Out of the ten individuals arrested this week, seven are Canadian residents. Extradition proceedings will precede their trial in California. Chapman’s arrest in Calgary on Tuesday was authorized by a Quebec judge’s extradition warrant.
In court on Friday, Chapman, clad in a blue jail jumpsuit and shackles, appeared before Justice Lisa Silver for an adjournment until December 5, with no set date for his extradition hearing. He faces charges of conspiracy related to cocaine distribution, murder, witness retaliation, and other organized crime offenses.
Allegedly, Chapman not only trafficked cocaine but also provided a photo to Gursewak Singh Bal, operator of The Dirty News website, known for crime-related content. Chapman purportedly paid Bal $10,000 to post the photo, which led to the victim being shot five times in a Colombian restaurant after the image was published.
Chapman, a former Alberta Junior Hockey League player, was previously implicated in drug and firearms trafficking charges. Initially, in 2018, he was accused of leading a Calgary-based criminal group involved in cross-border drug and gun activities linked to two murders, although no homicide charges were filed at the time. The 2018 charges against Chapman were dropped in 2020 due to trial delays.