A former Winnipeg drug dealer turned RCMP informant helped investigators dismantle a major organized crime network with alleged ties to the Hells Angels, court heard this week during the ongoing trial of Damion Ryan — a man police have described as “likely one of the most prolific organized crime members” in Canada.
Testimony from the paid informant, identified only as Agent 66 due to a publication ban, detailed how he worked undercover for months to gain the trust of high-level traffickers. His cooperation led to two pivotal transactions in early 2022 — a five-kilogram cocaine deal sourced from Ontario and a 10-kilogram methamphetamine shipment from British Columbia — both of which helped the RCMP crack into an international drug network.
Ryan, who police allege is a full-patch Hells Angels member with the group’s Attica chapter in Greece, was among 20 people arrested in February 2022 as part of Project Divergent. He faces charges including drug trafficking and conspiracy to profit from organized crime.
Court heard Thursday a secret audio recording from December 2021 of a meeting in Montreal between Agent 66 and a man he testified was Ryan. In the recording, the man discusses prices for cocaine by the kilogram and offers to provide handguns.
“I don’t know if you want guns … I can get that … brand-new Glocks … from the States,” the man can be heard saying.
A few weeks after that meeting, prosecutors allege Ryan arranged for a courier to deliver five kilograms of cocaine — worth roughly $200,000 — to Agent 66 in Winnipeg. Around the same time, Ryan’s brother-in-law, Denis Ivziku, allegedly coordinated a separate shipment of 10 kilograms of meth from B.C. hidden inside a modified vehicle compartment.
Ivziku, then 24, was also indicted following the Project Divergent bust, though a warrant for his arrest remains outstanding. Crown attorneys Kate Henley and Janna Hyman told the court Ivziku is referred to as “Denis” or “Menace” in intercepted communications.
Audio played in court captured Denis discussing drug quantities and prices with Agent 66 and an undercover officer. He agreed to sell them 10 kilograms of meth for $67,500 and a kilogram of cocaine for about $41,000. In another recording, Denis admits that “Mr. Wolf” — one of Ryan’s known aliases — is his brother-in-law.
Further exchanges introduced codenames like Big Homie, Big Buddy, Polar Bear, and Dime, which prosecutors and the informant testified were all references to Ryan.
At one point, Denis texted Agent 66 about sourcing cocaine from Ontario, saying, “Our guy has powder out there.”
“Like, Damion?” Agent 66 asked. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Denis replied.
Soon after, a transporter delivered the meth, cocaine, and two encrypted Whisper phones to Agent 66 in Winnipeg. One phone came pre-programmed with Denis’s contact name listed as “Elvis P.”
On Oct. 21, 2021, Denis sent Agent 66 another contact — “Berserker B” — saying that person was “Mr. Wolf,” whom Agent 66 identified as Damion Ryan. Using the encrypted Threema app, Ryan messaged him weeks later: “I am in Montreal in a few weeks, free to do coffee.”
That December, the two met in person. On the recording played in court, Ryan spoke about having recently returned to Canada after four years in Greece and discussed how to move 15 kilograms of cocaine from Toronto to Winnipeg. He also mentioned he could source “straps,” or Glock handguns.
Following the January 2022 deals, RCMP executed Project Divergent, arresting Ryan and nearly two dozen others across multiple provinces.
Agent 66, now in the federal witness protection program, has been paid more than $900,000 for his work as a covert informant. His identity remains sealed under court order.
Ryan is self-represented at his trial before Justice Chris W. Martin of the Court of King’s Bench, with limited assistance from court-appointed lawyer Amanda Sansregret. Cross-examination of Agent 66 is expected to begin next week.
Source: CBC
