RCMP MAY HAVE BROKEN DRUG LAWS, JUDGE TOLD

VANCOUVER -- The RCMP may have breached the country's drug laws when
it permitted an informant to traffic large amounts of methamphetamine
during a Hells Angels investigation, a B.C. Supreme Court judge heard
yesterday.

The informant, [Name redacted] , was allowed to transport nearly 20
kilograms of methamphetamine in 2003 and early 2004 while he was on
bail on an extortion charge.

Defence lawyer Don Morrison suggested the RCMP was acting "without
statutory shelter," when it allowed him to traffic in drugs and
commit other criminal acts while under police observation.

Mr. Morrison is representing [Name redacted] , on trial with [Name
redacted] on charges related to the alleged trafficking of a kilo of
methamphetamine in September, 2004.

The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act permits police to authorize a
person under its "direction and control," to commit drug offences as
part of a criminal probe.

But the RCMP did not seek formal authorizations for[Name redacted] to
engage in drug trafficking until April, 2004, several months after he
began his association with police.

Corporal Doug Collins testified yesterday that [Name redacted] was
not under the "direction and control" of police until the spring of
2004, when he signed an agreement with the RCMP under which he may
ultimately receive $1-million for his undercover work.

Mr. Morrison asked the officer if he was aware of the "aiding and
abetting" sections of the Criminal Code, which make it illegal to
assist in the commission of an offence or omit to do something so it
can take place.

Cpl. Collins, one of [Name redacted] first police handlers, said he
was aware of the sections. He explained the RCMP permitted the
activity because the former strip club bouncer was being used "as
part of a large investigation" into the east-end chapter of the Hells
Angels in Vancouver.

The decision to allow [Name redacted] to engage in criminal
activities so he could infiltrate the Hells Angels was made by Chief
Superintendent Bob Paulson, who headed the $7-million RCMP investigation.