Women charged after toddler discovered at alleged drug deal

WATCH: Two Lethbridge women are facing charges after they allegedly brought a three-year-old girl to a drug deal. Matt Battachio reports.

Two women are facing charges after a three-year old toddler was found inside a vehicle involved in an alleged drug deal.  On May 25th, Lethbridge Police were running a standard undercover street operation.

“When we conducted the investigation we noticed that there was a young child in the back seat of the vehicle,” said Rod Klassen of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team. “It was the vehicle that we purchased Fentanyl from, which caused us to end our investigation at that point.”

The discovery of the three-year old girl in the back seat of the vehicle is a serious concern for police.

“The dealers don’t know who they’re meeting,” said Klassen. “There is rip-off’s that occur, so anytime a child is involved in any type of drug deal it’s concerning to us.”

Two Lethbridge women in their mid 20’s were arrested after 27 Fentanyl pills and a small amount of crack cocaine was found in a search of the vehicle. They are both facing drug trafficking charges in addition to charges under Alberta’s Drug-endangered Children’s Act.

Lethbridge Police confirmed today that of one of the women is the toddler’s mother.  Because the child was exposed to the mother’s involvement in serious drug activity, the child is considered a victim of abuse and needs protection.

“Child and Family Services is taking care of the child,” said Klassen “They put her into a place where she can be taken care of, and as far as that’s concerned, that’s the end of our involvement with the child.”

The spread of Fentanyl across Southern Alberta remains a major concern for police, as it is quickly becoming the drug of choice in Lethbridge.

“It’s seen everywhere,” said Klassen. “It’s combined with different drugs as well, so it’s very concerning to us.”

But police believe one of their best strategies moving forward to combat Fentanyl use may simply be awareness.

“I think education and communication to the public is key obviously,” said Klassen. “Something we really try to do is relay the dangers of these Fentanyl pills to the users and dealers.”