Mexico raises $5.4M for social services by selling off Ryan Wedding's motorbike collection

Detailed summary

Mexico has raised roughly $5.4 million by auctioning off a rare collection of motorcycles seized from alleged Canadian drug lord Ryan Wedding, with the funds earmarked for social services.

Mexican authorities say a "historic" two-day bidding war has raised roughly $5.4 million through the sale of a rare collection of high-end motorcycles seized from alleged Canadian drug lord Ryan Wedding — with the funds earmarked for social services.

The Ontario-born alleged cocaine kingpin's motorbike collection was uncovered in law enforcement raids last year in Mexico City and the nearby Mexico state.

Wedding's collection of rare and high-performance motorcycles — which include models from Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki and Yamaha — were estimated by the FBI to be worth roughly $40 million US after they were seized in December.

More than a hundred attendees at a banquet hall south of Mexico City waited in anticipation Wednesday for the public bidding to open on hundreds of items, which included the dozens of luxury motorbikes belonging to the former Canadian Olympic athlete, according to reporting from the newspaper El País.

Speaking to reporters alongside Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum this morning, the head of the Mexican public agency INDEP — translated as the institute to return stolen assets to the people — described the two-day bidding war on Wednesday and Thursday as "historic."

Mónica Fernández Balboa said some of the "impressive" motorcycles "are going to museums in other parts of the world."

She said 57 of Wedding's 62 seized motorbikes were sold, with the remaining five to be auctioned off on Nov. 27.

Of the $5.4 million Cdn raised, Sheinbaum said $3 million would go toward a music conservatory. Proceeds from the agency's auctions typically go to fund social services.

El País said bidders at the Wednesday auction ranged from private enthusiasts to a well-known U.S. collecting and auction house.

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