One man was arrested after more than $1 million worth of drugs, guns and cash was seized in a drug bust in Edmonton.
The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams said Wednesday morning it began a drug-trafficking investigation late last year that culminated with two homes being searched on Feb. 23.
The homes were located in the Ermineskin and Terwillegar neighbourhoods.
With the help of Edmonton police, ALERT seized the following items:
- 2 firearms
- body armour
- 3.5 kilograms of fentanyl
- 3.5 kilograms of cocaine
- 100 cartons of contraband cigarettes
- $47,845 cash
“The drug trade is inherently violent. Firearms are used to instill fear, violence and intimidation amongst rivals, but more often than not it is the community impacted,” said Acting Insp. Blayne Eliuk with ALERT Edmonton.
ALERT spokesperson Mike Tucker added the quantity of fentanyl seized was significant.
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“Fentanyl is no stranger to these criminal markets. It’s profitable, it’s easy to conceal, easy to sell. We’re all well aware of the dangers it poses and organized crime is capitalizing on that harm they instill in communities,” he said.
“That’s a lot of doses that we removed from circulation. Ideally that’s stopping overdoses and saving lives.”
A 43-year-old man was arrested and ALERT said he is expected to be charged at a later date. It’s not yet clear what charges he could be facing and the man was not named by officials.
“Right now it’s just the one suspect who was arrested, but part of the benefit of ALERT is that we’re always trying to expand the scope of investigations,” Tucker said.
“We know that this person wasn’t operating in isolation. Someone always has a boss, so looking to see where else this investigation may lead us.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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