BC Man Gets 11-Year Sentence for Trafficking Fentanyl and Cocaine

Details are now emerging in the case of a B.C. man sentenced to 11 years in prison for possessing large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

A July 2 sentencing decision from Justice Andrew Majawa revealed the events leading to the arrest and conviction of 45-year-old Jason Conrad who admitted to two counts of possessing fentanyl and cocaine with the intent to traffic. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid.

Conrad was arrested in March 2023 after being observed by police making multiple visits to a house producing fentanyl in Richmond, B.C., and leaving with a full backpack, according to court documents, summarizing an agreed-upon statement of facts.

At the time of his arrest, Conrad was carrying a reusable shopping bag containing what the court called a “staggering” quantity of high potency fentanyl that “would almost certainly have destroyed a very large number of lives.”

“The shopping bag was found to contain 15.6 kilograms of fentanyl that was 68 to 79 percent pure,” wrote Majawa, adding that “the bag emitted a very strong chemical order, and he was also carrying three cellphones.”

A subsequent search of Conrad’s Tesla led to authorities discovering $37,800 in cash, two bricks of pure cocaine, and a stun baton, the documents said. Majawa’s sentencing decision identified Conrad as a drug runner but not a decision maker in the higher levels of the fentanyl operation.

Conrad has 28 previous convictions involving drug dealing and violent crimes, but Majawa took into account his early guilty plea that saved four months of the court’s time and the fact that Conrad undertook rehabilitation while awaiting trial. Majawa also noted in his sentencing decision that Conrad had a difficult upbringing with early separation from his siblings and two parents who were addicts.

“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,” Majawa said.

Letters of support were also submitted to the court from Conrad’s two sons, his older brother, his ex-girlfriend, and his current girlfriend stating their belief he can be rehabilitated.

“Mr. Conrad’s prospects for rehabilitation will be best served if he is able to maintain and be near these supportive contacts during his period of incarceration,” Majawa said, recommending that Conrad serve his sentence “in an institution as close to Duncan, British Columbia, as possible.”

Conrad had 683 days subtracted from his 11-year sentence, leaving him with slightly less than nine years and two months to serve. He was handed a lifetime weapons ban in addition to his sentence.

Opioids have killed more than 52,500 people in Canada between January 2016 and December 2024, with 80 percent of the deaths occurring in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.