SMUGGLER WHO LOST DRUGS GETS 14 YEARS

Leroy Carr, who called U.S. authorities when threatened by the Hells
Angels after losing cocaine, testified that his life was in danger

A desperate American drug smuggler who lost 31 kilos of cocaine
belonging to the Hells Angels called U.S. authorities from a Vancouver
motel after he was threatened by the gang.

Leroy Carr, 47, was sentenced in a Seattle court Friday to 14 years
behind bars for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
related to the bizarre sequence of events in August 2007.

Carr testified at his trial that the cocaine had been left in some
bushes near a boy-scout camp on the U.S. side of the border so he
could transport it across the border along a four-hour smuggling route
to Chilliwack.

"It was a route that was in the Black Mountains territory and it went
from the United States into Canada," he said, explaining that once in
Chilliwack, "I would call a taxi and go to a Greyhound bus station and
then I would get into Vancouver and then I would call the people and
let them know I was there."

But when he went to retrieve the 31-kilo stash on Aug. 4, he could not
find it anywhere.

Panicked, he called his Canadian contact, whom he did not identify by
name, according to transcripts obtained by The Vancouver Sun.

He was summoned to Vancouver by the criminal organization and told to
check into the Palms Motel on Kingsway to decide what would be done
about the missing cocaine, he testified.

"They right away thought that I was responsible for it, because how
could I lose it? I had been there three times before, at least. They
didn't believe I somehow couldn't find it," Carr said.

The Canadian gang held several meetings over two days with him at the
Palms and another Vancouver hotel, he said.

"First we waited inside the motel and then one of their
representatives showed up and they instructed us to come outside. ...

"And then it was about 20 guys. My back was turned and the footsteps
kept coming in and I turned around because I was surprised it was so
many footsteps," Leroy said. "They were an organized group without a
doubt. ... It was very stressful."

He testified that he believed his life was in danger.

"You could just tell by these guys that they were armed and it was
serious."

Carr was told that he could come up with $750,000, which he said was
impossible. Or he could "do some bezzles," which meant free
transportation of pills -- likely ecstasy -- across the border.

He frantically tried to convince the gangsters that he had not stolen
their cocaine, that it really was lost.

"They told me that blood would be spilled for this money. And it
wasn't just me. They were talking to the two guys that were with me.
That's what they said," Carr testified.

He said one of the men had taken his driver's licence and recorded the
address on it, which was his mother's. That made him afraid to leave
Canada, he said.

"I knew that, you know, they were going to retaliate
somehow."

He said the gang made reference to being with the Hells Angels, "but I
never saw anybody with a beard or no motorcycle or jackets with HAs on
it."

At the end of the meeting, Carr was driven back to the Palm, he
said.

He was so worried about his safety that he called an agent with the
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "as soon as I came in the
door."

"I was very concerned about the situation that I was in, but I knew
that they wouldn't [retaliate] anywhere else if I stayed there and did
what they wanted me to do," Carr said. "I told [the agent] what was
going on, what happened and he told me, you know, 'You're in a lot of
trouble there. ... I can provide you with some help if you can get to
the United States.'"

He said he took a bus to the border and met two agents, asking them to
issue a news release saying they had seized the drugs, so that the
crime group would not retaliate. But then he returned to the Palms in
Vancouver the same night, fearing that if he didn't, the gang would be
hunting for him.

Carr told the agents he had smuggled cocaine into B.C. for the gang
before, but at his trial, he changed his story, saying he had only
moved money across the border for the gang and that the Aug. 3 cocaine
shipment was going to be his first.

The missing cocaine was found two weeks later, on Aug. 21, 2007, by a
boy scout ranger who called the Northwest Regional Drug Task Force. He
said there were two blue backpacks near the camp entrance that
appeared to contain cocaine. The backpacks were dry and in good shape.

Carr was arrested in September 2007 and convicted after a four-day
trial in October 2008.

At sentencing Friday, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said
there were "a number of signs Carr was involved in substantial amounts
of smuggling over a period of time."

Even before the August 2007 events, Carr had come to the attention of
border agents on numerous occasions, each time in the possession of
large amounts of cash and tools commonly used by smugglers, including
night vision goggles and a GPS system containing coordinates to a
well-known smuggling trail.

Prosecutors argued Carr's sentence should reflect the fact that he had
lied repeatedly while under oath on the witness stand.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Crisham said in her written submission
that "the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that this was not
Carr's first time trafficking cocaine, and that on the contrary, he
had smuggled drugs across the border on numerous occasions on behalf
of the Hell's Angels."

"As Carr himself acknowledged at trial, cocaine is an extremely
dangerous drug that has destroyed lives and ravaged communities,"
Crisham wrote. "As a cocaine smuggler, defendant was an integral part
of the illegal distribution network that continues to feed the demand
for the drug."