The RCMP announcing a major inter-provincial drug trafficking operation was taken down by the Saskatchewan RCMP, the Regina Police Service, and a number of other police services throughout western Canada, including the Weyburn Police Service.  

Last Thursday and Friday, six search warrants were executed in Weyburn, Moose Jaw, Vancouver and Burnaby. In all, there were 10 people arrested, and they are facing a total of 54 charges, with the charges including trafficking in a substance included in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, possession of a substance included in Schedule 1 for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, conspiring to commit an indictable offence of trafficking in a controlled substance and conspiring to commit the indictable offence of possession of property over $5,000. One of the arrests was in Weyburn, as 41-year-old Jamie Neufeld was taken into custody. She is scheduled to appear in court in Regina on June 19th,  

The other arrests include four people from Moose Jaw – 28-year-old Sasa Bilusic, 22-year-old Braylen Breton, 36-year-old Courtney Austin and 40-year-old Mitch Schoffer. 26-year-old Cassandra Beckett-Benjamin was arrested in Burnaby as was 27-year-old Nikola Galic and 41-year-old Zlatko Mandaric. Two others were arrested and released without any charges being laid.  

“This investigation has demonstrated the presence of illicit drugs in small towns and rural areas – it is not strictly a big city issue. When we look at the impact of drug trafficking in our communities, there is violence and property crime. We know the abuse of drugs fuels deadly addictions which ruin the lives of Canadians every day – this is evident in the information we have released about fatal overdoses in our rural Saskatchewan communities,” said Inspector Andrew Farquhar, Officer in Charge of RCMP FSOC (Federal Serious and Organized Crime) in Saskatchewan. “Our goal is to prevent illicit drugs from entering our communities in the first place.”   

The officers seized 3.36 kilograms of MDMA, 8.95 kilograms of cocaine and 28.17 kilograms of methamphetamine. The cocaine was tested, and police reported it had purity levels as high as 97 percent.  

“Bringing this investigation to a successful conclusion has not only disrupted criminal activity at multiple levels but has also created a significant hole in the pockets of local, national and international crime groups,” says Superintendent Trent Stevely, in charge of the Investigative Services Division at the Regina Police Service. “This seizure by police means these illicit drugs will never be on our streets in Saskatchewan, victimizing our communities.” 

In the release, RCMP stated the amount of drugs seized as evidence and the charges that have been laid are subject to change as the investigation continues.