Eight people, including two teenagers, have been charged after a “lengthy” investigation into a drug trafficking network in Surrey and Langley.
Surrey RCMP said Thursday the accused have been charged with a combined 51 counts of trafficking and possession of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, which were laid on May 8.
RCMP said the investigation took place between April and August of 2018, with assistance from Surrey’s serious crime section and Vancouver police.
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The “prolific” trafficking network has also been linked to the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict, police added.
Thirty-one-year-old Jeffrey Donald Lessard of Coquitlam has been charged along with three Langley residents: 53-year-old Janet Lynn Horvath, 37-year-old Jonathon Joseph Thomas, and 35-year-old Garrnett Thadeous Flannigan.
Two other adults — 27-year-old David John Hudon of Surrey and 33-year-old Joshua James Pellerin, who has no fixed address — are also facing the same charges.
The two teenagers, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, cannot be named to privacy concerns regarding minors. The 18-year-old was a youth at the time of the alleged offence, police said.
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Lessard is also facing eight additional charges for trafficking and possession of fentanyl and cocaine, which stem from an unrelated investigation.
“Drug trafficking remains a significant contributing factor in gang related violence across the Lower Mainland,” Surrey RCMP Insp. Mike Hall said in a statement.
“Together with our partners, we will continue to strategically target individuals and networks connected to the illicit drug trade.”
The bust is the latest in a series of high-profile drug investigations that have wrapped up in Surrey, including a month-long effort that partnered with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia. That investigation led to nearly 60 arrests.
Police are asking anyone with information that may be helpful to the investigation to contact Surrey RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
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