GANG FOUND NEW COCAINE SOURCE

Leader found new ways to import drugs after cocaine and cash seized in
U.S. bust, documents say

UN gang leader Clay Roueche starting buying his cocaine directly from
South America after more than 200 kilos and $750,000 cash were seized
in the U.S., according to court documents filed Wednesday.

In one bugged telephone call, Roueche agreed to "test the water" of a
new cocaine route by smuggling more than 50 kilos and said he had a
"bunch in Venezuela I've already paid for," the documents say.

Roueche has been held in segregation near Seattle since his arrest
last May on international drug-trafficking charges. His lawyer wants a
judge to allow the Fraser Valley native into the general prison
population pending his trial in January.

But the U.S. Attorney says Roueche is far too dangerous and could
retaliate against other inmates who are cooperating with the
government in the criminal case.

"Because of Roueche's leadership position in the UN gang, his previous
use of another inmate's phone, his gang's violent tendencies toward
those who might testify against other gang members and the necessity
to separate him from a number of cooperators and co-defendants in the
general population, administrators at the Federal Detention Centre
made the decision to house the defendant at the Special Housing Unit,"
says the U.S. Attorney's response to Roueche's motion for free-range
status.

A major issue is how Roueche behaved in jail when he was briefly held
in Oklahoma last May before being sent to the SeaTac Federal Detention
Centre, making several illegal calls or getting other inmates to do it
for him, the U.S. Attorney said.

"Oklahoma prison officials realized that he was speaking in code on
the phone so denied him phone privileges," the documents say. "At the
SeaTac FDC, the defendant convinced another inmate to let him use that
inmate's telephone call number."

Canadian and U.S. law enforcement agencies have been following Roueche
and his UN underlings since 2005 as part of a massive cross-border
investigation, the documents say.

"Working together, the agencies have found evidence of nearly two
dozen cocaine exporting trips from the U.S. into Canada and the
seizure of three separate cocaine loads," the U.S. Attorney said,
adding that 2,000 pounds of B.C. bud was also seized.

"Clay Roueche is the operational leader as well as the public face of
the UN gang. ... Its operations, mostly importing and distributing
marijuana, have spread east across Canada to Toronto, Hamilton and
Montreal. Working in cells, the organization has become powerful and
violent in Canada."

The U.S. Attorney also cited information from the B.C. agency
investigating the UN, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.

"In 2007, after a series of shootings in Chilliwack, Roueche's vehicle
was stopped and found to contain a sophisticated hidden compartment in
the centre console of the passenger area. That centre console was full
of handguns, including an illegal and loaded pistol, several clips
from a Sig firearm and a photograph of rival gang members," the
documents say.

"CFSEU has surveilled Roueche consistently for the past few years and
found that he routinely has armed body guards. One associate ... was
found to have a hidden compartment in his car with a loaded handgun
and oversized magazines. This gun was registered to a law enforcement
agency in the United States."

Roueche's application to get out of segregation has not yet been heard
by a judge.

The Canadian's lawyer argues that Roueche's ongoing segregation
amounts to "cruel and unusual punishment."

"He is housed in his cell 23 hours a day. The only time he is allowed
out is for one hour each morning at 6 a.m. Other than that, my client
is completely isolated, except for visitation by legal counsel or
family, who reside in British Columbia, Canada," lawyer Lee Covell
said. "I have never known such housing to extend beyond 30 days."