Jarrod Bacon was interested in purchasing cocaine from a Mexican supplier because of a shortage of high-quality product in the Fraser Valley, and an opening in the market created by divisions in the UN Gang, an agent for the police testified Monday.
The agent, who can only be identified by the initials G.L. because of a publication ban, took his first day on the stand during the trial for Bacon and co-accused Wayne Scott, each charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
The trial is being held in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
G.L. also testified that Bacon said he had funders with a $3-million bankroll to purchase the cocaine, and he could move 30 to 40 kilos of product at a time and earn up to $40,000 per kilogram. G.L. said Bacon identified one of those funders as an Abbotsford man, who was believed to be the target of a drive-by shooting early this year.
G.L. testified about his own criminal history. He is Canadian, and was arrested in California in August 1999 in possession of 150 pounds of marijuana and $205,000 cash.
He had been hired to exchange the pot for 50 kg of cocaine.
G.L. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in marijuana and cocaine, and was given a 46-month sentence in a U.S. prison. He was transferred to Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford to serve the remainder of his sentence after 30 months.
He described the method used to transport money and drugs between California and the Fraser Valley. This was done by making a “reservoir” within the propane tanks on full-size pickup trucks used in the scheme.
Marijuana was transported south, where the reservoirs would be dismantled and replaced with cocaine for the trip back to Canada.
G.L. was released from prison in 2005. During his jail term in the U.S., he had befriended a Mexican man who was serving eight years for cocaine smuggling.
G.L. said he had no drug involvement for a five-year period starting in 2003, but he wanted to get back into the business. He contacted his friend Wayne Scott, whom he had met 20 years previously when they were both truck drivers.
G.L. knew that Scott’s daughter was the girlfriend of Jarrod Bacon, alleged to be a leader in the Red Scorpions gang, and he wanted Scott to arrange a meeting.
“I wanted to meet him (Bacon) and talk to him about the possibility of getting involved in a drug transaction,” G.L. said.
G.L. said he met with Bacon twice in February 2009 at Scott’s home on Devon Crescent in Abbotsford. They discussed the shortage of cocaine in the Valley, the poor quality of the product that was being distributed and the problems the UN Gang was having.
G.L. mentioned his contact in Mexico who could supply 100 kg of cocaine with a purity level of 92 to 95 per cent. It was during the second meeting that Bacon mentioned his funders, G.L. said.
In later meetings with Scott, G.L. said he could provide a sample of the cocaine to Bacon and his crew, and they would need to come up with a deposit of $3,000 for each kilo of cocaine they wanted.
In June 2009, G.L. became an agent with the police – details of the circumstances were not revealed in court – and phone and in-person conversations were then taped. As well, G.L. was required to make handwritten notes after each meeting.
During yesterday’s testimony, a wiretap conversation between Scott and G.L. detailed the arrangements that were being made to have Bacon and his funders meet at a warehouse on Maclure Road where the converted propane tanks, pickup trucks and other equipment were being stored.
The cocaine sample was also expected to be shown at that meeting.
“In a very short period of time, we can make a lot of money,” G.L. is heard telling Scott.
G.L.’s testimony is expected to continue all week.