An arrest has been made and charges laid after Edmonton police found 40.5 kilograms of cocaine — with a street value of about $1.8 million — inside a vehicle during a traffic stop Oct. 27.
“This 40.5-kilogram seizure was the largest single-location seizure of cocaine in Edmonton Police Service history,” said Insp. Lance Parker.
He said the second-largest seizure of this kind was made in August 2013 and was 28 kilograms of cocaine.
Police started investigating a 40-year-old man believed to be involved in drug trafficking in September, the EPS said Thursday.
The investigation led to a traffic stop with the suspect on Friday, Oct. 27, when cocaine was found in his vehicle and he was arrested.
Randhir Singh Gill, 40, was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. He is expected to appear in court on Nov. 8.
“Typically, when you’re looking at this type of level of drug seizure, organized crime is involved,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart of the Edmonton Police Service guns and gangs section.
Parker said the drugs were ready to distribute but could have brought in even more than $1.8 million.
“The level that you see here is kind of the mid to higher level, as far as the drug trafficking goes. It’s a scale,” he said. “But this can easily be broken down to a half-gram level and then sold at the street level. What you see here, if you broke it down, it would absolutely be 100 times the value we just talked about because of how small they could break this down to.
“This is ready to be sold at this level and then they can start breaking it down to get it to the street level,” he explained.
He added that he hasn’t seen this particular branding before.
Now, Parker said the team will try to determine where the drugs came from.
“Although an arrest has been made in this file, the investigation into the source of the drugs has not concluded. We are continuing to work with our law enforcement partners both in Canada and in the United States as we attempt to determine the source of these illicit drugs.”
Police are concerned about the violence this kind of crime brings to communities.
“Along with this line of work, violence follows along with it,” Parker said. “The concern is the violence that’s related to the drug trafficking, the drug use within the city of Edmonton. That’s what we’re concerned with — the amount of violence that’s associated with this kind of illegal activity.”
As of Sunday, Parker said, Edmonton will have a second Gang Suppression Team (GST), meaning there will be coverage seven days a week.
“We’ve seen that there is an issue with drugs in the city of Edmonton. We’re trying to combat that with forming some new teams.”
Police suspect the drugs in this particular seizure would have spread outside city limits.
“It’s just like travel. … We are the gateway to the north,” Parker said. “I would suggest this was not all destined for the city of Edmonton but could have been destined for smaller communities.”
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.