Pubdate: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2006, The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: Shannon Kari Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?188 (Outlaw Bikers) RCMP ENTERED 'UNCHARTED WATERS' Official Testifies About Hiring Bouncer To Infiltrate The Hells Angels VANCOUVER -- A senior RCMP official conceded it was in "uncharted waters" when it decided to use a strip club bouncer as a key police agent and permitted him to engage in large-scale drug trafficking to try to infiltrate the Hells Angels in Vancouver. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Raf Souccar testified yesterday that it was an "operational decision" to allow drugs into the community, and not one that was made lightly. "The drugs would be there with or without us," said Mr. Souccar. "We could be bystanders or we could try to put this operation out of business." Mr. Souccar provided the explanation in testimony at the methamphetamine-trafficking trial of Ronaldo Lising and Nima Ghavami. Mr. Lising is alleged to be a "full patch" member of the Hells Angels while Mr. Ghavami is alleged by police to be an "associate." The defendants have filed an abuse-of-process motion and are asking Mr. Justice Victor Curtis, who is hearing the case without a jury, to dismiss the criminal charges because of the alleged criminal conduct of Michael Plante while he was under the direction of the RCMP. The evidence of Mr. Souccar, who is based at its headquarters in Ottawa, provided a rare glimpse into the RCMP strategy in targeting groups such as the Hells Angels. The east-end Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels was a "national tactical priority" for the RCMP, said Mr. Souccar. "It is a criminal organization that is extremely difficult to infiltrate." As a result, the RCMP entered into an agreement in June 2004 to pay Mr. Plante up to $1-million to act as a police agent. The long-time bouncer had ties to the Hells Angels because he previously acted as "muscle" for them to collect debts. The court has heard that the entire RCMP operation, known as Project E-Pandora, has cost more than $7-million to date and resulted in the arrest of 18 people in July 2005, mostly on drug trafficking and extortion-related charges. The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and recent changes to the Criminal Code permit police agents to break the law as long as the acts have been approved and are "reasonable and proportional" to the investigation. Large-scale drug trafficking by a police agent "was not a technique we took lightly or had used in the past," said Mr. Souccar. "We were in uncharted waters." The Surete du Quebec was the only other police force that had used a similar technique. The Assistant Commissioner said he consulted with senior officials at the Justice Department in Ottawa before going ahead. Exemptions for criminal acts had to be approved by Mr. Souccar, who said he turned down some requests. The head of criminal operations for the RCMP in B.C., Gary Bass, once asked if he could "eliminate a step," in the authorization process, which Mr. Souccar turned down. Mr. Plante testified last month that he committed assaults while he was a police agent and thought that threatening people was allowed, but denied engaging in acts that were not permitted, other than minor steroid trafficking. During the time he was an informant and then a formal police agent, Mr. Plante was involved in the trafficking of more than 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, most of which was not recovered by police. The drugs had a street value of more than $300,000. "This is a drug that supposedly kills young people," said Don Morrison, lawyer for Mr. Ghavami. "Are you telling me the RCMP can do anything?" "I am not suggesting we can do anything," responded Mr. Souccar. "The goal was to dismantle a criminal organization. We could not act prematurely." This is the first of four criminal trials connected to the E-Pandora probe. One of the 18 people arrested recently pleaded guilty to extortion and cocaine trafficking. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman