Bangladesh, Nov. 22 -- The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on Ryan James Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who has transformed from celebrated athlete to one of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Far removed from his early career on the slopes, Wedding now stands accused of orchestrating a sprawling, multi-billion-dollar cocaine-trafficking empire stretching across the Americas. The US Treasurys designation marks the latest escalation in a high-stakes, multinational effort to dismantle what officials describe as one of the most violent and sophisticated drug networks currently operating in the Western Hemisphere.

Wedding, who represented Canada in snowboarding during the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, is believ...