B.C. man who sold drugs to police agent sent to prison
Harada knew coke, meth, heroin, fentanyl were destined for Saskatoon, court told
A Vancouver man who repeatedly sold hard drugs to a police agent involved in Project Forseti — one of Saskatoon’s largest drug busts — has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Adam Harada knew the kilogram of cocaine, four kilograms of methamphetamine, two ounces of heroin and 2,000 fentanyl pills were destined for re-sale in Saskatoon, according to an admission of facts presented at Harada’s sentencing in British Columbia Supreme Court this week.
Although Harada’s charges originated in Saskatoon, they were transferred to Vancouver, where he pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic, trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime.
He was sentenced to eight years on the conspiracy charge, eight years concurrent on the trafficking charge and two years concurrent on the proceeds charge after the judge accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence, Lynn Hintz with federal prosecutions confirmed.
Court heard Harada had no criminal record when he sent a courier to deliver drugs to Noel Harder’s courier in Calgary on two separate occasions in October and November 2014.
Harada and Harder also set up a third drug deal in January 2015, but Harada’s courier was intercepted and arrested before the exchange was made.
At the time, Harada believed Harder was the vice-president of the Fallen Saints Motorcycle Club. Harder was actually working as a police agent in Project Forseti, a massive drug and gun investigation targeting the biker club’s connection to organized crime.
“The (Fallen Saints) was a criminal organization established by Harder and others to traffic in various drugs and commit other crimes in support of another motorcycle club,” the facts state.
Harada sent $46,000 worth of meth and fentanyl on Oct. 15, 2014, $65,000 worth of meth and heroin on Nov. 9, 2014, and $110,000 worth of cocaine, meth and fentanyl on Jan. 14, 2015, for a total of $221,000.
He also sold a kilogram of cocaine to another member of the Fallen Saints for $68,000.
Darryl Nagy will be the last person to be sentenced in connection with Project Forseti. He pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl in Saskatoon between October 2014 and January 2015 and cocaine trafficking in November 2014. His sentencing is scheduled for next week.
More than 20 men were charged as a result of the Project Forseti investigation. Justin Smith, a Fallen Saints member who received the highest prison term, is appealing his 18-year sentence, Hintz said.