By Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

Six charged after police seize $50,000 worth of crack cocaine

Nov 29, 2016 | 10:02 AM

LETHBRIDGE – The local Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) seized $50,000 worth of crack cocaine from a north side home last week.
 
Police say it’s in connection to another case last Monday (Nov. 21), where they took down two homes allegedly used to sell drugs in the Meadowlark Boulevard and 1300 block of 7 Street North areas. Police were able to then move up the chain and identify the alleged suppliers.
 
This second seizure, that happened November 23, turned up 526-grams of crack cocaine, 22-grams of a buffing agent, 15 oxycodone pills, a replica firearm as well as $3,340 in cash from a home in the 1300 block of 23 Street North. ALERT’s organized crime and gang team, Lethbridge Police and RCMP all helped in the investigation.
 
The following six people now face a total of 14 drug trafficking related charges:
 
– Abdual Kadir Salad, 20, of Calgary;
– Mohammed Yusuf Isse, 26, of Ottawa;
– Liban Mohamed Hassan, 31, of Calgary;
– Hanad Warsame, 22, of Toronto;
 -Walter Courtoreille, 55, of Lethbridge;
– Paul McCarthy, 37, of Lethbridge.
 
Salad and Isse were both charged in the first phase of the investigation and released on bail, but now face new drug and breach of recognizance charges. Staff Sergeant Rod Klassen confirmed the two were arrested for this second bust just half an hour after being released on bail for the first one.
 
“They went straight from jail basically to another drug house. It just shows what they’re here for,” Klassen said. “They were here for no other reason than to deal drugs. They got into this house shortly before we conducted our search warrant and were arrested inside.”
 
He went on to explain that people like this typically move from city to city in order to remain undetected.
 
Warsame was also wanted on drug trafficking warrants from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
 
According to Klassen, this is considered a significant bust for Lethbridge, but he’s pleased with the effort to slow the flow of drugs into the city.