Police holding armoured car belonging to Bacon brothers

Police have seized a fully armoured luxury car leased by the Bacon brothers, the CBC has learned.

Jamie, Jarrod and Jonathan Bacon are well known to provincial law enforcement officials. Last May, B.C.'s Integrated Gang Task Force issued a public warning that the brothers had been targets of death threats, and that association with them might place individuals "in a position of jeopardy."

The black BMW 745i, which weighs more than a one-ton truck and is fitted out with bulletproof glass and heavy steel plating, was found abandoned last month near Prest Road and Highway 1 in Chilliwack.

Its bulletproof glass was nearly four centimetres thick.

The car was leased to the Bacon brothers by Four Star Auto Lease in Coquitlam, which had leased a number of vehicles to the men and their associates.

An employee of Four Star, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told CBC News earlier this month that since hearing whom they were leasing vehicles to, employees have feared drive-by shootings.

"We're trying to clean up our act now that we've been made fully aware of it, and we're running around with our hand over our behind because we're afraid that somebody might shoot us," the employee said.

Although armoured vehicles are not illegal, they often violate Motor Vehicle Act and Insurance Corp. of B.C. weight rules.

Last month, Jamie Bacon was shot at while travelling in his armoured Mercedes during the day on a busy Abbotsford street. He escaped serious injuries.

Three weeks ago, Bacon's associate, Kevin LeClair, was killed while behind the wheel of his pickup truck.

No charges have been laid.