Two members of the Canadian Armed Forces are facing charges for allegedly trafficking crack cocaine, cocaine and methamphetamine, a statement from the Department of National Defence said on Wednesday.
The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, or CFNIS, on Tuesday charged Bombardier Nathan Saunders and Corporal Rickardo Bryce of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa with drug possession and drug trafficking charges.
Bombardier Saunders has also been charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
The two have been under investigation since December, officials said.
“On 14 December 2023, Military Police received a complaint that two Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members were trafficking cocaine and other drugs to CAF members at CFB Petawawa as well as civilians from the area,” the DND statement said.
During the arrest, the CFNIS’s hateful conduct, extremism, drugs and gangs enforcement team, which is called HEDGE, said it seized “crack cocaine, cocaine and methamphetamine with an approximate street value of $35,000 as well as drug trafficking paraphernalia, $5,000 cash and one handgun.”
Authorities said charges were laid in civilian court and the matter will now proceed through the civilian justice system.