FBI arrests sixth ‘Top Ten Most Wanted’ fugitive in one year

FBI Director Kash Patel revealed the arrest on Friday, which he said was the sixth top ten most wanted fugitive arrested in one year

by Summer Lane | January 23, 2026

The Department of Justice and the FBI apprehended another dangerous fugitive Friday morning, according to FBI Director Kash Patel, resulting in the agency’s sixth Top Ten Most Wanted arrest, he said.

“Ryan James Wedding was taken into custody in Mexico last night,” Patel said in a statement.

He continued, “He is being transported from Mexico to the U.S. via FBI FTOC to face justice. Wedding is believed to have been hiding in Mexico for over a decade – and has been wanted on charges for cocaine trafficking and murder since 2024.”

Wedding was allegedly running a transnational drug and trafficking operation, according to Patel, where he ran his goods from Colombia into America as a member of the deadly Sinaloa Cartel.

“This is the SIXTH Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive this FBI has captured within a year – fugitives who had been on the run for almost 40 years combined,” Patel added. “That’s no accident. President Trump is letting good cops be cops and the results speak for themselves.”

The FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list dates to 1950. According to the agency, since that time, there have been 537 fugitives on the list, with 500 apprehensions or at least locations.

The list serves as a publicity tool to aid in the location of fugitives by making their information available to Americans nationally.

According to the FBI’s wanted poster for Ryan James Wedding, the U.S. State Department’s Narcotics Rewards Program had offered up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.

Director Patel said that Wedding’s capture was made possible by cooperation and coordination with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Ambassador Ron Johnson, and federal partners, such as the DOJ and State Department.

“This is a huge day for a safer North America, and the world, and a message that those who break our laws and harm our citizens will be brought to justice,” Patel said.

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