A man Calgary police believe was a fentanyl dealer who distributed about 500 tablets of the drug a day across central Alberta has been arrested.
Multiple tips from the public sent in July 2015 suggested the suspect was also responsible for selling fentanyl to a man who died of an overdose in May. The suspect was arrested last Thursday.
READ MORE: Fentanyl fact sheet – what it is and what it does
After complaints about an Innisfail hotel guest giving false vehicle information and “behaving strangely,” RCMP went to the hotel Dec. 14, 2015. Officers found evidence of drug-related activity and worked with the Calgary Police Service drug unit to identify one of the men involved, who was connected to the ongoing Calgary investigation.
Police found a safe belonging to the man containing about $30,000 in bundled packages of $1,000 each, along with another $6,000. Forty-six fentanyl tablets and five grams of cocaine were also seized, police said.
READ MORE: Police arrest 2 fentanyl dealers after stops in Calgary, Chestermere
Brian Crane, 26, of Okotoks, was charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.
Crane was charged again Jan. 28 after he and a woman were pulled over in Calgary’s Deer Run community. Police found 61 fentanyl pills, 0.8 grams of cocaine, 1.6 grams of heroin, $355 in cash and multiple cell phones on that occasion.
READ MORE: $18K in fentanyl pills among items seized from Calgary home
Rachael Chafe, 19, of Okotoks was also charged with trafficking in fentanyl, possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, possession of heroin and possession of cocaine. Crane and Chafe are set to appear in court Feb. 17 to face the Calgary charges.
Besides Calgary, police believe the fentanyl was being distributed to users in Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, Strathmore, Claresholm and High River.
Watch below: Global’s ongoing coverage of recent fentanyl-related cases in Alberta
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