A police informant who said he feared for his life as some of the most dangerous people in the country wanted him dead – is now behind bars.
On Tuesday, Noel Harder was arrested after police conducted a high-risk traffic stop at the intersection of Powe Street and Rayner Avenue.
Inside the SUV, authorities said they found a loaded handgun, ammunition, a knife, an imitation firearm, bear spray, an axe and fentanyl.
Harder, 39, was charged with 26 weapons-related offences, possession of fentanyl and breach of probation.
“Harder tells me he had permission from a prosecutor to be carrying the weapon, whether that can be established remains to be seen,” Harder’s lawyer, Tony Merchant, said.
Harder alleges he was armed with the handgun and other weaponry for his own protection after being kicked out of the witness protection program for allegedly violating the terms of his agreement with the RCMP.
“It’s understandable why he would have wanted to have protection, the circumstances, coming back to Saskatoon not necessarily to stay but for a temporary period,” Merchant added.
Harder was a past associate of the Hells Angels and Fallen Saints and assisted police with Project Forseti, leading to the arrest of nearly 20 people, over 100 criminal charges being laid, and the seizure of $8 million in drugs.
Merchant could not explain his client’s drug charge or disclose why he was in the area. A bailing hearing for Harder has been set for Friday morning.
During Harder’s first court appearance on Wednesday, the Crown was opposed to his release.