Dismantling of western Canada drug ring began with Medicine Hat busts

He says the outcome of the investigation is staggering.

The 18-month investigation, the details of which were released Wednesday, was a joint effort between ALERT and RCMP. Officials say they seized nearly five kilograms of fentanyl, almost 10 kilograms of meth, and 50 grams of cocaine. They say the fentanyl alone is a theoretical yield of about 5,000 doses as sold at street level.

More than $80,000 in cash, 11 firearms, and other weapons were also seized.

Three people from Calgary and one from Fort St. John, B.C. have been arrested and charged with a total of 37 offences. A warrant has been issued for a fifth person, from Calgary, who is believed to be somewhere in B.C.

Members of the Medicine Hat Police Service work within ALERT, which also leveraged specialized units here in MHPS to assist the investigative team.

Police chief Mike Worden says a seizure such as this doesn’t happen by investigators stumbling across the evidence.

“It happens by strategic decision-making all the way through. So to get to this point there are points and moments in this investigation that they had to make tough decisions, great investigative decisions that led to the arrest of those five individuals or at least four and looking for the fifth,” he says. “So they did great work and I think it was a great opportunity for the Medicine Hat Police Service to showcase the investigators and the people that we have and the training that they have and put it into place.”

Drug houses have been a concern of city residents for many years, and Worden says spin-off investigations will have a local impact.

“It’s impacting their supply, it’s impacting the people that are involved and this has led off to a number of different investigations,” he says.

The drugs, firearms and cash seized in Project Motor. (Photo Courtesy Derek Brade)

by Chris Brown

Dismantling of western Canada drug ring began with Medicine Hat busts

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