Mexico seizes Olympic medals, motorcycles in raids seemingly linked to hunt for Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding

Mexican authorities say they've seized motorcycles, Olympic medals and drugs in a series of raids — a move seemingly linked to the hunt for Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding.

The operation amounts to the most significant series of moves publicly acknowledged by Mexico that appear to be in connection with the manhunt for the alleged cartel-linked drug lord. 

The government’s statement didn’t identify Wedding by name, but said the raids targeted a foreign former Olympian listed among U.S. authorities’ most wanted fugitives. 

Only Wedding — who was born in Thunder Bay, Ont., and competed in snowboarding at the 2002 Olympic Games in Utah — fits the bill. Mexican media also named the 44-year-old as the target of the operation.

The statement from Mexico's security secretariat said four properties were raided in Mexico City and the nearby state of Mexico, a region that includes some of the capital's suburbs. The operation involved multiple agencies, including Mexico's navy, national guard and federal agents from the attorney general’s office, the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR). 

Mexican authorities said items seized included:

Who the medals belong to isn't clear. Wedding finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom event in 2002 and did not return to the Olympics. 

U.S. authorities and the RCMP have said Wedding later turned to a life of crime and built a billion-dollar drug-smuggling empire linked to dozens of murders. He’s believed to be hiding in Mexico.

The U.S. is offering a reward of up to $15 million US for information leading to Wedding’s capture. 

The U.S. Treasury Department recently said Wedding uses luxury cars, motorcycles, properties, front companies and cryptocurrency as part of a “complex web” of assets to