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A former junior hockey player from Calgary has been arrested on extradition warrants in connection with an FBI operation targeting an alleged Canadian drug lord wanted for murder and other offences.
Allistair Chapman is accused of providing a photo to one of his co-accused and paying him to post it to the website Dirty News so a witness “could be located and killed” before he could testify against the alleged leader of a transnational criminal organization, Ryan Wedding.
Chapman, 33, was arrested in Calgary on Tuesday and faces extradition to California on charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit murder, allegations of conspiracy to retaliate against a witness and other organized crime offences.
Ten people — seven of whom reside in Canada — were arrested Tuesday as part of Operation Grand Slalom, an international investigation into the murders of several people, including a co-operating witness, as well as cocaine trafficking and importation.
Wedding, the main target of the investigation, is a former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder-turned-fugitive who is listed on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list. The FBI says he is living in Mexico.
In total, 11 people were arrested pursuant to a federal grand jury indictment, unsealed Wednesday morning. Four others, including Wedding and two more Canadians, are wanted in connection with the investigation.
That indictment alleges Chapman is a member of the “Wedding Criminal Enterprise” which, according to the indictment, is a billion-dollar drug trafficking organization that operates in Mexico, Colombia, Canada and the U.S. and is the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada.
On Wednesday, U.S. officials including FBI director Kash Patel, held a news conference in Washington, D.C., alongside RCMP commissioner Michael Duheme, announcing the arrests.
Witness murdered ahead of trial
According to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Wedding is living in Mexico and “controls one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in this world.”
Wedding is accused of ordering the murders of several people, including the victim and a witness in a 2024 federal drug case.
The indictment alleges Chapman provided another defendant with a photograph of one of the victims and paid him to post the photo on a website “so that Victim A could be located and killed.”
That victim was gunned down in a restaurant in Colombia in January.
Wedding and his associates are accused of importing tons of cocaine each year from Colombia through Mexico and onto North American streets.
“Today, we’re exposing the network of associates and enablers behind Ryan Wedding,” said John Hurley, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Chapman arrested Tuesday
Court documents show that Chapman was arrested Tuesday on an extradition warrant signed by a Quebec judge.
He made a brief appearance later that same day before Court of King’s Bench Justice Shane Parker with Department of Justice lawyer Colin LaRoche representing the Crown and Chad Haggerty appearing for the defence.
Chapman is currently being held under the Extradition Act and will return to a Calgary courtroom on Friday.
Haggerty declined to comment.
Charges dropped due to delay
Chapman has a history with law enforcement.
In 2018, police alleged that Chapman was the leader of a Calgary-based organized crime group involved in international drug and firearms trafficking. The group was also connected to two murders, although Chapman did not face murder-related charges at that time.
Project Arbour saw Calgary police, RCMP, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lay a total of 46 charges against six people including Chapman.
In July 2020, all of those charges were stayed after a judge found that Chapman’s Charter right to a speedy trial had been violated.
Chapman is a former AJHL hockey player who played with the Calgary Royals and the Drayton Valley Thunder.
