Gang War Led Police to Ryan Wedding's Alleged Hitman
Malik Cunningham's arrest near Vaughan funeral in April 2024 helped FBI dismantle transnational cocaine empire.
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A chance encounter with local police near the funeral of a suspected gang member in Vaughan led officers to an iPhone that would help the FBI dismantle a transnational cocaine empire linked to the Sinaloa cartel, court documents show.
Malik Damion Cunningham, arrested in April 2024 outside that funeral, is an alleged rival gang member and hitman hired and trained by Ryan Wedding's sprawling criminal enterprise. Recently unsealed search warrant documents reveal the 2024 operation that led U.S. prosecutors to Wedding's network.
Wedding, who went by aliases Public Enemy and Giant, was arrested in Mexico earlier this year. A former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder, he's accused of leading a cartel-linked empire that smuggled truckloads of cocaine and fentanyl across North America and carried out dozens of killings. He has pleaded not guilty in California to murder, drug trafficking, and money laundering charges.
The investigation began after the April 1, 2024, shooting death of 29-year-old Randy Fader in his Niagara Falls driveway. Court documents describe Fader as an international drug trafficker who had met with Mexican cartel figures. U.S. prosecutors say he was shot at the request of Wedding's top lieutenant.
Cunningham, nicknamed Mr. Perfect, is charged with murder in Fader's killing. Police suspected he was preparing to commit another serious criminal act when arrested outside the funeral for Ibrahim Abdikarim, a 30-year-old alleged Go Getem Gang member from Lawrence Heights whose death in an early-morning triple shooting remains unsolved. Cunningham was identified as a member of the Falstaff Crew, which was in conflict with gangs from Lawrence Heights. The allegations against both Wedding and Cunningham have not been proven in court.
