Bidding war for ‘king of cocaine’ Ryan Wedding’s collection of luxury motorcycles

The room in the Ambrosio Hall, south of Mexico City, is nearly full with over 100 attendees. The auctioneer, who is running the sale for the Mexican government’s Institute for Returning Stolen Assets to the People (Indep), keeps a frenetic pace. Although 400 items were listed for Wednesday’s auction, there were hidden treasures that collectors and enthusiasts had been waiting for. One of the first items offered is a Ducati Desmosedici GP15 motorcycle, a prototype the Italian manufacturer raced in MotoGP’s top class in the 2015 season. It went under the hammer for 2.09 million Mexican pesos (just over $112,000). When it was announced, several whispers ran through the room. The attendees know who owned it. No one said it aloud, but almost everyone was there for the same reason: to buy one of the 61 luxury motorcycles that belonged to former Canadian Olympic athlete and drug trafficker Ryan Wedding, known as the “king of cocaine.”Amid the manhunt by Mexican authorities and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the former snowboarder in late December 2025, one image became the emblem of a Washington statement of intent. The photo showed at least 12 rows displaying more than 60 luxury motorcycles, valued at at least $40 million, that were seized in Mexico City and the State of Mexico from a man who had been among the FBI’s 10 most-wanted criminals. Each of these motorcycles was included on an Indep list that went on sale to the public in Mexico on November 11 and 12. Wedding’s collection includes Ducati models that were ridden by prominent riders and world champions such as Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Marc Márquez. Amid a buffet of green chilaquiles, sweet bread, and a variety of teas and coffee, several groups battled in each lot. Bidders ranged from private enthusiasts — like the person with paddle number 50, who tried several times and managed to buy a bike valued at 2.36 million pesos (just over $127,000) — to a well-known U.S. collecting and auction house that dominated the morning session on Wednesday, winning nine motorcycles for more than 17 million pesos (almost $913,000).Aggi GarduñoAggi GarduñoAggi GarduñoAggi GarduñoAggi GarduñoThe best weapon possessed by “the Americans,” as the other participants called them, was in fact a slim Mexican man with glasses and a neatly trimmed short mustache. Dressed in a gray checked jacket and shirt, with black trousers, he looked like an efficient, ruthless gunman from the old West. Focused and thoughtful as the auctioneer repeated offers and counteroffers in a split second, he would unerringly raise paddle 117 with mathematical precision to close out his competitors’ bids. The sale of the No. 65 Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP, with Marlboro livery — a rare official factory race bike historically ridden by Italian Loris Capirossi — played out like a rapid tennis rally in Ambrosio Hall, because of how quickly bids flew from one side of the room to the other. Those present only turned their heads and lifted their phones to record the moment, impressed by the auctioneer’s speed in narrating the sale. What is the secret to maintaining tension at a moment like this? “First is keeping control of the numbers and being completely clear about who is bidding. It also requires using peripheral vision, verbal and nonverbal communication, exciting the crowd, encouraging purchases by using the voice, and conveying the thrill that comes with large sums of money at stake. I myself get naturally excited watching people buy,” explains Marco Viloria, responsible for the sale of Capirossi’s bike and an auctioneer with 17 years’ experience. Mónica Fernández Balboa, director general of Indep, explains that proceeds from assets seized by prosecutors, such as the case of Wedding’s motorcycles, go to the Presidency’s Social Cabinet to fund social justice projects, like programs for the widows of Pasta de Conchos and for Rarámuri and Amuzgo Indigenous communities.The starting price for the lots was set at approximately 60 million pesos, with the first day’s bidding rising by nearly 20% above the opening base. “The valuation is not carried out by institute staff but by expert appraisers contracted through public tender. They inspect the physical condition and operation of each asset to determine depreciation or real value, issuing a signed and sealed report that accompanies each lot’s file,” Fernández explained. Ryan Wedding, who was arrested and extradited to the U.S. at the end of last January, has a history that reads like a movie script. His name resurfaced after new revelations from U.S. prosecutors about a network of protection, bribes and leaks in Mexico that operated to support his criminal organization. From links to Mexican judge Luis Benítez Alcántara, who was arrested a week ago in Colombia — exposing holes in the country’s judicial system — to connections with figures such as Roberto Gómez, a gang leader from California, or Edgar Vázquez, alias “El general,” leader of the Cartel Nuevo Imperio, who was killed on November 5. Officials on the other side of the border believe the Canadian trafficker evaded justice in Mexico for at least 10 years thanks to these figures.Prospective buyers of Wedding’s assets were generally terse and measured in their words. An older man, who lost several bids to “the Americans,” is aware that there are competitors with significant purchasing power and that, faced with such a collection, there’s no harm in giving way. He knows that with one day of the auction left, an opportunity might open to acquire a luxury vehicle that belonged to the king of cocaine.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition