A Mexican federal judge, Luis Benítez Alcántara, was arrested in Colombia for allegedly accepting a $2 million bribe to release Andrew Clark. Clark is the Canadian associate of alleged drug kingpin and former Olympian Ryan Wedding.
The $2 million payment that freed Andrew Clark
Luis Benítez Alcántara, a 49-year-old federal judge from Mexico City, is accused of orchestrating a pay-for-play scheme to grant bail to Andrew Clark. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the transaction was finalized on February 24, 2025, the same day that Benítez Alcántara ordered Clark's release.
The U.S. government alleges that Clark, 36, negotiated the $2 million payment specifically to bypass the extradition proceedings that Benítez Alcántara was responsible for overseeing. While the release was successful for a brief window, Clark was re-arrested days later and transferred to the United States,where he currently faces pending charges.
A bililon-dollar cocaine pipeline to Canada
The bribery case is a symptom of a much larger criminal enterprise. As reported by the source, Andrew Clark allegedly served as the second-in-command of a transnational criminal organization valued at a billion dollars. This network is described as the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, with operational hubs spanning Colombia, Mexico, and the United States.
The scale of this operation suggests a highly sophisticated logistics chain capable of infiltrating both the legal and illegal sectors of multiple nations. The involvement of Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder, adds a layer of complexity to the case, illustrating how high-profile public personas can be leveraged to mask massive narcotics trafficking.
Nine counts of accessory for Luis Benítez Alcántara
The legal repercussions for the Mexican judiciary are severe. luis Benítez Alcántara was arrested in Colombia on November 1 and now faces nine counts of being an accessory after the fact in the United States. If convicted on these charges,the judge could face a maximum of 15 years in prison for each individual count.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche has made it clear that the United States intends to prosecute foreign officials who facilitate the operations of drug traffickers. The Department of Justice is currently working to extradite Benítez Alcántara from Colombia to face trial on American soil.
The FBI-RCMP coalition and the missing Toronto link
The takedown of this network required an unprecedented level of international cooperation. The FBI worked alongside the LAPD, the RCMP, Interpol, and the Colombian National Police to secure the charges against Benítez Alcántara and the primary targets of the drug probe.
Despite these arrests, several critical gaps remain in the public record. It is currently unclear if other members of the Mexican judiciary were bribed to maintain the billion-dollar pipeline, or if the $2 million paid to Benítez Alcántara was part of a larger, recurring payment structure. Furthermore, while Ryan Wedding and Andrew Clark are in U.S. custody,a Toronto jeweler linked to the case remains behind bars after losing a bail review, suggesting that the Canadian arm of the conspiracy is still being dismantled.
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