DRUG DEALER KIDNAPPED, TORTURED, JURY TOLD

A Winnipeg drug dealer was kidnapped and tortured by several men
because he fell out of favour with the Manitoba chapter of the
Bandidos motorcycle gang, a jury heard Monday.

The 20-year-old victim was allegedly dragged from his car, pulled into
a home and held in a small room for several hours where he sustained a
vicious beating which included crushing his fingers and removing a
tattoo with knife.

"He looked like a beach ball. His head was swollen. He was beat up,"
said Jason Michel, a former high-ranking biker associate who admits to
participating in parts of the violent February 2005 attack.

"His finger was smashed. It was flat. And he was pretty much
incoherent. He was dazed."

Michel, 24, was called to testify as a Crown witness at the trial of
five men who have pleaded not guilty to a series of violent crimes
which also include a home invasion and extortion.

Michel admitted Monday to having an extensive record for crimes
including break-and-enter, assault, uttering threats and breach of
court orders. He is also pending on new criminal charges and was led
into court in shackles by sheriff's officers.

Michel told jurors he was serving as president of "La Familia" --
which he described as a "support" group for the local Bandidos chapter
- -- at the time of the abduction. La Familia's job basically involved
selling cocaine on behalf of the Bandidos, he said.

Most of their drug-related meetings occurred inside a Portage Avenue
tattoo parlour where Michel worked, court was told.

Michel said the victim owed the Bandidos $26,000 in outstanding drug
debts and a plan was hatched to make him pay.

He claimed Bandidos member Ron Burling summoned several gang members
and associates to his home, where a decision was made to run their
target's car off the road and drag him into a nearby crackhouse.

Michel said they utilized his ex-girlfriend to lure the victim to the
neighbourhood on the pretext of an innocent meeting.

"We decided we would block his car on the road and take him in the
apartment building and find out where the money was," said Michel.

Michel identified four other accused -- Daniel Blair, Adam Curwin,
Billy Joe Ducharme and Daniel Pereira -- as executing the plan to
perfection under the directions of Burling.

The victim's car was directed into a snowbank and came to rest against
a tree. The man -- along with a female friend in the passenger seat --
were both hauled inside the Toronto Street home and held captive.

"She was shocked. She didn't know what was going on. And he was
scared. He kept asking why this was happening," said Michel.

"All I said to him was that he was f----d. He kept asking why but I
didn't respond."

Michel said Burling was in phone contact with him that night and had
him race around the city trying to collect money from different
locales. He ended up getting only about $1,000 worth of cash and
cocaine, he said.

Michel said he returned to the apartment block several hours later to
find the victim in terrible physical shape.

The victim was angry with Michel and demanded he remove a dollar sign
tattoo from his finger that Michel had previously given him, saying
their "friendship was over", according to Michel.

"I removed it with a knife," he said.