KELOWNA – A two-week undercover operation targeting drug traffickers in Kelowna has resulted in 44 arrests.
“The main investigational technique that was used was undercover police officers purchasing drugs at the street level from methamphetamine, crack cocaine and heroine traffickers in primarily the red-zone area of downtown Kelowna,” says Kelowna RCMP Sgt. Greg Woodcox, the head of the the downtown enforcement unit.
The undercover sting operation took place the last two weeks of June. The 44 people arrested face charges ranging from drug trafficking to possession of stolen property to breaches of court orders.
RCMP say many of the people arrested are prolific offenders and arresting them all at once does put a dent into the downtown drug crime scene.
“Approximately 70 per cent of those people arrested have been detained in custody, so currently incarcerated,” says Woodcox. “So for me, who is down there every day, I see a difference because the same individuals that I know are trafficking in the downtown core are no longer present. It is a short term thing some times. A few months from now, we will see the same people out, but we do these undercover operations numerous times during the course of the year.”
RCMP say drug stings, like this most recent one, are also helping reduce overall crime stats.
According to Stats Canada, Kelowna had the dubious distinction of highest crime rate in the country among all the census metropolitan areas in 2012. The latest numbers reveal that Kelowna has now jumped down to the number four spot. The highest crime rate in the country now belongs to Saskatoon, followed by Regina and Vancouver.
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