A 56-year-old Abbotsford trucker who was involved in a cocaine deal with Jarrod Bacon was sentenced to three and a half years in jail on Monday in B.C. Supreme Court, in Vancouver.
Wayne Scott was convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine in February, following a 2009 undercover operation in Abbotsford by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.
His sentence was well below the range of eight to ten years that Crown Counsel Peter LaPrairie submitted as appropriate.
Bacon was sentenced to 12 years in jail in May. The federal Crown is appealing that sentence, seeking to have the jail term increased. Crown's position was that a sentencing range of 18 to 21 years was appropriate.
The court documents state that the sentence is being appealed because it was unfit, "considering the seriousness of the offence, the aggravating features and the offender's degree of responsibility."
The Crown office has not indicated whether Scott's sentence would also be appealed. LaPrairie's original range of sentence for Scott was 13-15 years, but after Bacon received 12 years he lowered the range to 8-10.
Defence counsel asked for a conditional sentence order, and if the judge found that did not fit, a range of three to four years.
Defence attempted to argue entrapment and abuse of the Charter of Rights, because Scott had a friendship with the police agent involved in the undercover operation – a convicted drug smuggler whose name is protected by a publication ban. However, while the judge commented on that relationship, he did not accept the defence argument.
The CFSEU operation involved the use of the police agent who negotiated with Bacon, using Scott as the middle man, to purchase 100 kg of cocaine purportedly being smuggled from Mexico. Bacon has a child with Scott's daughter.
Arrangements had been made for the purchase of the first 10 kg, with the remainder to be bought 10 kg at a time until it was gone.
The operation was halted by police before any money or drugs changed hands.