B.C. man with 'enormous' amount of fentanyl in a bag and bricks of cocaine in his Tesla gets 11 years

A British Columbia man whose Tesla was once found to contain more than $47,000 in cash and two kilograms of cocaine while he himself was carrying a bag containing 15.6 kilograms of fentanyl has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for trafficking. Jason Thomas Howard Conrad, age 45, pleaded guilty on June 4 to two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. One count was regarding fentanyl, the other cocaine. Justice Andrew Majawa sentenced him on June 17. Court documents show that Conrad had been under surveillance since January 2023. Police targeted a home on McLeod Court in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, B.C., and confirmed that it was being used to produce fentanyl. Conrad was first seen at the home on Jan. 25, 2023, and again in February, when he arrived empty-handed and left with a heavy backpack. Police followed his Tesla to an underground parkade in nearby Coal Harbour, where he met with an unknown male. In March, Conrad was at the McLeod property again, this time leaving with a heavy reuseable shopping bag. He was arrested, and the bag was found to contain 15.6 kilograms of fentanyl that was 68 to 79 per cent pure. He was also carrying three cellphones. His Tesla was also searched, and $10,000 cash in $100 bills was found in the centre console. In the trunk was another $37,800 in a shopping bag, and two one-kilogram bricks of cocaine that were 92 to 94 per cent pure. Also found in the Tesla were two more cellphones and a conducted energy weapon described as a jolt stun baton. Conrad was arrested on March 21, 2023, but was released without charges. A year later, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested again on March 19, 2024, and has remained in custody since then. In his ruling, Justice Majawa noted that Conrad had “a very challenging upbringing,” adding: “Both his parents suffered from addiction, and by age 11 he and his siblings had been apprehended by the Ministry. I am told that Mr. Conrad did not have a stable home after his apprehension, and it appears that he was separated from at least some of his siblings at this time. Mr. Conrad’s first engagement with the criminal justice system occurred at around age 11 when he was caught breaking into the group home where his sisters were residing.” Justice Majawa also noted Conrad’s “significant criminal history” of 28 convictions: four counts of breaches, 10 of property offences, four of assaults or offences against a person, five driving offences and five counts for drug offences. The last stretched from 2001 to 2008, and  “related to the trafficking of cocaine from British Columbia to New Brunswick and the purchase of multi kilograms of cocaine as part of a larger trafficking conspiracy,” he said. The justice noted that, in addition to the record being an aggravating factor in the latest case, so too was the amount and purity of fentanyl. “The quantity of fentanyl in this case can be fairly described as enormous,” he said. “The 15.6 kilograms of fentanyl was of a high purity and it would almost certainly have destroyed a very large number of lives.” He added: “The highly pure fentanyl that Mr. Conrad was involved in trafficking would typically be diluted with cutting agents; and considering that the typical user would consume approximately 0.1 grams of fentanyl at a time, the number of doses to be produced from the nearly 16 kilograms of fentanyl that Mr. Conrad was involved in trafficking is nothing short of staggering. The pernicious effects of cocaine that erode the health and safety of Canadian communities should also not be overlooked, and the profit that would arise from the eventual street-level sale of the quantities of cocaine and fentanyl in this case are of a very significant magnitude.” Conrad was sentenced to 11 years for the possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, and seven years for the possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The sentences are to be served concurrently. In addition, Conrad received a credit of 683 days for the 455 days spent in pre-sentence custody, at a rate of 1.5 days for each day in custody, to be applied against the 11-year sentence. Justice Majawa concluded: “Mr. Conrad, I wish you success in your journey towards your rehabilitation.”

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