North Vancouver RCMP said two “known gang associates” were arrested in the early morning hours of May 18 following a drinking and driving roadblock.
Officers were stationed at a road check near Capilano Drive and Marine Drive when at about 3 a.m. a newer model Range Rover pulled up.
Police said the driver stopped and rolled down the window and the officer thought the driver might be impaired.
“Generally, this initial brief discussion our officers have with the person behind the wheel allows them to detect possible impaired drivers,” Sgt. Peter DeVries of the North Vancouver RCMP said in a release.
“But sometimes we find more than we’re looking for, and that’s a good thing.”
The officer recognized one of the occupants of the Range Rover as a gang associate connect to the current Lower Mainland gang conflict.
As the investigation continued, police said they found a large amount of cash, two bags of what appeared to be illicit pills, and a knife. The cash, drugs and knife were seized, and the investigation is ongoing.
The police have not released the identities of the people in the car.
“The police agencies across Metro Vancouver, including the North Shore, are working together, sharing resources, and exchanging real-time gang intelligence in an effort to disrupt and prevent further violence,” DeVries added.
“The North Vancouver RCMP have adopted a professionally assertive position in dealing with known gang members and, along with our counterparts, are working to achieve the same goal: to shut down these gangsters, to take away their guns, drugs, and crime money, and to protect our communities from their reckless violence.”
Recently, Vancouver police and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. took the unusual step of releasing the names and photos of known gangsters in the Lower Mainland, warning the public to stay away from them.