Numerous people are facing bootlegging charges after RCMP said they seized a significant amount of alcohol being brought into a dry northern Saskatchewan community for resale.
Wollaston Lake RCMP said the four separate busts happened on two consecutive weekends in August.
The first one was on Aug. 16 when RCMP said it intercepted a boat coming from Barge Landing to dock at Hatchet Lake Dene Nation.
Police said 58 bottles of hard liquor were among the alcohol seized.
Four adults were charged with selling or offer to sell, display or keep beverage alcohol under the province’s Alcohol and Gaming Regulations Act.
They are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 14.
The next bust happened the morning of Aug. 22 when RCMP said they were tipped off that a boat returning to Wollaston Lake had alcohol onboard for resale.
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While officers were waiting for the boat, it turned away and headed in the direction of Jackpine Island for roughly 30 minutes, police said.
When the boat returned, officers searched it, but did not find any alcohol.
Police then searched a small island near Jackpine Island and said three bags with 38 bottles of hard liquor were found along with evidence it belonged to a Wollaston Lake resident.
The individual has been charged with selling or offering to sell, display or keep beverage alcohol.
RCMP said further tips from the public led to two more busts.
One happened on the evening of Aug. 22 when police said they followed a boat on the lake until it arrived onshore and was searched by officers.
Police said 12 bottles of hard liquor and over 60 bottles and cans of wine, beer and coolers were seized and a Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation resident was charged.
The last bust happened the following evening on a commercial barge that connects the Wollaston Lake settlement on the eastern side of the lake to Highway 905 on the western side of the lake.
Police said they found eight bottles of hard liquor in a package intended for delivery, resulting in charges being laid against two local residents.
The four incidents are not connected, police said.
Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation is a dry community located on each side of Welcome Bay on Wollaston Lake.
Its neighbour, the Wollaston Lake Settlement, is located between the two portions of the Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation, on the western shore of the bay.
Wollaston Lake is roughly 850 kilometres north of Saskatoon.
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