Five individuals from Calgary and Airdrie are facing 46 gun and drugs charges, after an investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) uncovered six firearms and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs.
On June 5, ALERT said Calgary’s organized crime team executed a search warrant at a home in the northeast community of Harvest Hills, along with two vehicles.
A second home in Creekstone, in Calgary’s southwest, as well as two storage lockers were searched by police on June 13.
Police seized six firearms and more than $300,000 in drugs, including:
- 1,285 grams of cocaine
- 5,204 grams of suspected cocaine buffing agents
- 2,361 grams of methamphetamine
- 511 grams of fentanyl
- 63 opioid pills
- $40,260 in cash
ALERT said none of the firearms were lawfully possessed, and two of the them had the serial numbers defaced, while another contained 3D-printed parts. The guns are being analyzed to determine if they were used in other crimes.
“Guns and drugs are a huge community issue, not only in Calgary and Edmonton but throughout the entire province,” said ALERT Calgary Insp. Matthew Baker
“Drug dealers are generally armed, creating violent encounters and those encounters can happen any time of day or night, which significantly increases the risk for public safety.”
Police said one suspect fled during the search warrant executions and was arrested on July 9. Four others are also facing charges in relation to the investigation.