A man from the Toronto area, known as the “Russian” by his associates, has agreed to extradition to the United States after being accused of participating in a cocaine smuggling conspiracy linked to a former Olympic snowboarder.
Rakhim Ibragimov appeared in a downtown Toronto court and decided to consent to his surrender to the U.S., as confirmed by his lawyer, Harval Bassi. Ibragimov, who hails from Uzbekistan and is 48 years old, faces conspiracy charges in Los Angeles. He is set to go on trial early next year along with other individuals associated with Ryan Wedding, who is listed among the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives.
Ryan Wedding, originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, competed for Canada as a snowboarder at the 2002 Olympic Games in Utah. He is suspected of leading a drug-trafficking organization tied to multiple murders while residing in Mexico.
According to Kiran Gill, a lawyer representing Canada’s attorney general, Ibragimov was identified as a “courier” for Wedding’s network. U.S. investigators reported that Ibragimov was apprehended near Los Angeles in April 2024 while loading boxes containing 375 kilograms of cocaine into his rental car, allegedly bound for Canada. Wedding’s network is accused of using the area as a logistics hub for a significant cocaine and fentanyl smuggling operation worth $1 billion.
Despite being detained and then allowed to return to Ontario, Ibragimov was arrested again last fall by Toronto police. This arrest coincided with U.S. authorities apprehending more than a dozen of Wedding’s alleged co-conspirators in various countries.
Ibragimov, along with his co-defendants, is due to face trial in federal court in Los Angeles next February. Among those indicted are ten Canadians, including individuals involved in coordinating drug shipments, an alleged hitman based in Toronto known as “Mr. Perfect,” and Andrew Clark, Wedding’s top lieutenant. Wedding and Clark are charged with organizing four murders in Ontario.
The trial is scheduled to proceed next year, even if Wedding remains at large. The RCMP considers Wedding, who is 43 years old, a significant organized crime threat to Canada. The U.S. State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Wedding’s arrest.