Tasty Budds’ CEO and three other people have been arrested and face multiple trafficking and possession charges following a raid of the Cole Harbour marijuana dispensary.
Halifax District RCMP confirmed to Global News on Tuesday that they had performed a search on the Cole Harbour location earlier Tuesday and had arrested the four people but provided no further information until Wednesday.
In a release, police say they performed the second search on the marijuana storefront — it was first searched last Thursday along with four other locations — at approximately 1 p.m. after they received information the storefront had reopened.
READ MORE: Halifax-area Tasty Budds marijuana dispensary raided 5 days after previous raid
Norman Arthur Lawrence, 46, of Westphal and CEO of Tasty Budds is facing additional charges including three counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, three counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of property obtained by crime.
Lawrence was already facing charges from a raid of five Tasty Budds locations and four homes last Thursday, including trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana, cannabis resin and cannabidiol.
He was held in custody overnight and appeared in Dartmouth Provincial Court Wednesday.
Christopher Michael Keating, 32, of Dartmouth, 46-year-old Janet Elizabeth Benoit of Halifax and 21-year-old Stacey Marie Gloria MacKay of Eastern Passage all face three counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
All three were released and are scheduled to appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court on Oct. 11.
WATCH: The CEO and the president of the Tasty Budds chain of medical dispensaries in Nova Scotia were among those arrested and charged following a raid of four homes and five of the business’s locations in Nova Scotia. Steve Silva reports.
Marijuana, shatter, cannabidiol (also known as cannabis oil), and drug paraphernalia were seized during the search.
The arrests and charges come less than a week after 10 people, including Lawrence and Tasty Budds president and owner Mal McMeekin, were arrested and nine people were charged following the raids last Thursday.
In response to the arrests and charges, McMeekin wrote a letter to the media on Monday, stating the Sackville location was the only one to harbour the alleged illegal activity. He said he does not condone such activity or promote it at his business and that since the police’s actions, he has fired all the employees at the Sackville store.
Police say further arrests are anticipated and the investigation is ongoing.
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