Jens Lapidus - Easy Money

The men pulled her into the van.

Her last thought was that she regretted ever having moved to Stockholm.

A shit city.

Case: B 4537-04

Tape 1237 A 0.0-B 9.2

Transcript

Case B 4537-04, the People v. Jorge Salinas Barrio, count 1. Direct examination of the defendant, Jorge Salinas Barrio.

District Court Judge: Would you please tell us in your own words what happened?

Defendant: There isn’t a lot to say. I didn’t really use the storage unit. My name was just on the lease as a favor to a friend. You know, sometimes you gotta give a bro a hand. Sure, I’d stored stuff there sometimes, but my name was really just on paper. The storage unit’s not mine. That’s pretty much all I got to say, actually.

District Court Judge: Okay, if that is all, you may proceed with your questions, Mr. Prosecutor.

Prosecutor: When you say the “storage unit,” you are referring to the storage facility at Shurgard Self-Storage near Kungens Kurva?

Defendant: Yeah, sure.

Prosecutor: And you’re saying that you’re not the one who uses it.

Defendant: Right. I signed the lease, and I did that to be nice to a buddy who can’t rent property and stuff. He’s got bad credit. I’d no idea there was so much shit in there.

Prosecutor: So, who does the storage unit belong to?

Defendant: I can’t say.

Prosecutor: Then I would like to bring the Court’s attention to page twenty-four of the preliminary investigation. It is a statement you, Jorge Salinas Barrio, gave after questioning by the police on April fourth of this year. I will read the fourth paragraph, where you say the following: “The storage unit is rented by a guy named Mrado, I think. He works for the big guys, if you know what I mean. I signed the lease, but it’s really his.” Did you or did you not say that?

Defendant: No, no. That’s wrong. There must’ve been a misunderstanding. I never said that.

Prosecutor: But it says so right here. It says that the statement was read back to you and that you approved it. Why didn’t you say something, if they misunderstood you?

Defendant: I mean, I was scared. It’s hard to keep everything straight when you’re being interrogated. There was a misunderstanding. The police were putting pressure on me. I was freaked-out. Guess I said that so I wouldn’t have to sit there and be interrogated anymore. I don’t know any Mrado. I swear.

Prosecutor: Really. Well, Mrado told us, in a statement, that he knows who you are. And you just said that you didn’t even know there was so much “shit” in the storage unit. What do you mean by “shit”?

Defendant: You know, drugs. The only thing I stored there was, like, ten grams of cocaine for my own use. I’ve been using for years. Other than that, I used the storage unit for furniture and clothes ’cause I move around a lot. The other stuff wasn’t mine and I didn’t know it was in there.

Prosecutor: So, whom do the narcotics belong to?

Defendant: I can’t talk about that. You know, I might have to face reprisals. I think it could be the guy I usually buy drugs from who put the cocaine there. He’s got the key to the storage unit. The scale’s mine, though. I use it to measure out my fixes. For my own use. But I don’t sell. I have a job; I don’t need to deal.

Prosecutor: So, what line of work are you in?

Defendant: I’m a courier driver. Mostly weekends. It pays well. Under the table. You know.

Prosecutor: Let me see. If I’ve understood you correctly, you’re saying that the storage unit does not belong to someone named Mrado, but to someone else. And this someone else is your dealer? But how did six and a half pounds of cocaine end up in there? That’s a lot of cocaine. Do you know what that’s worth on the street?

Defendant: I don’t know exactly, since I don’t sell stuff like that. But it’s a lot. Maybe a million kronor. The guy I buy from puts the drugs in the storage unit himself after I pay him. That way, we avoid direct contact and being seen together. We think it’s a good system. But now it seems like he’s screwed me. Put all that shit in the storage unit so I’d take the hit.

Prosecutor: Let’s go over this one more time. You’re saying that the storage unit does not belong to someone named Mrado. It actually doesn’t belong to you, either. And it doesn’t belong to your dealer, either, but he uses it sometimes for transactions between the two of you. And now you believe that he’s the one who stored all the cocaine there. Jorge, you actually want us to believe you? Why would your dealer want to store six and a half pounds of cocaine in a storage unit that you have access to? What’s more, you keep changing your answers and you refuse to name names. You are not reliable.

Defendant: Come on. It’s not that complicated, I just get a little confused. This is how it is: I hardly never use the storage unit. My dealer hardly never uses it. I don’t know who all that cocaine belongs to. But it seems probable that it’s my dealer’s shit.

Prosecutor: And the baggies, whom do they belong to?

Defendant: They must be my dealer’s.

Prosecutor: Well, what’s his name?

Defendant: I can’t say.

Prosecutor: Why do you keep insisting that the storage unit is not actually yours and that the narcotics in it are not yours? Everything points to that.

Defendant: I’d never be able to afford that. Anyway, I’ve already told you, I don’t deal. What more do you want me to say? The drugs aren’t mine.

Prosecutor: Other witnesses in this trial have named another person, too. Isn’t it possible that the narcotics belong to a friend of Mrado whose name is Radovan? Radovan Kranjic.

Defendant: No, I don’t think so. I have no idea who that is.

Prosecutor: Yes, I think you do. During the questioning by the police, you mentioned that you know who Mrado’s boss is. Isn’t it Radovan you mean?

Defendant: I already told you, I never talked about no Mrado, that shit’s wrong, so how would I know what you’re talking about? Huh? Can you answer that?

Prosecutor: I’m the one asking the questions here, not you. Who is Radovan?

Defendant: I already told you, I don’t know.

Prosecutor: Try-

Defendant: For FUCK’s sake, I don’t know. You slow or somethin’?

Prosecutor: It seems like this is a sensitive subject. No more questions. Thank you. The defense may ask their questions now.

Case B 4537-04, the People v. Jorge Salinas Barrio, count 1. What follows is a questioning of the witness Mrado Slovovic in regard to the matter of narcotics in a storage unit by Kungens Kurva. The witness has been sworn in and reminded of his rights. This is the prosecution’s witness.

Prosecutor: You have been mentioned in the preliminary investigation in connection with the accused, Jorge Salinas Barrio, as the person who rents a storage unit with Shurgard Self-Storage by Kungens Kurva in Skärholmen. What is your relationship to the defendant, Jorge Salinas Barrio?

Witness: I know Jorge, but I’m not renting any storage unit. We’ve been acquainted in the past. I used to be involved with drugs, too, but quit a couple of years ago. I run into Jorge now and then. Last time was in the Solna Mall. He told me he runs his drug operation through a storage unit across town now. He said he’d come up in the world and started selling a whole lotta cocaine.

Prosecutor: He says he doesn’t know you.

Witness: That’s wrong. We’re not exactly friends. But we know each other.

Prosecutor: Okay. Do you remember when you saw him? Can you tell me more in detail what he said?

Witness: It was in the spring sometime. April, I think. I was in Solna, visiting some old friends. I’m not usually around there much otherwise. On the way home, I went into the mall to play the horses. I ran into Jorge in the bodega. He was well dressed and I almost didn’t recognize him. You know, when we were buds, he was on his way down, straight shot to the shitter.