National

Drug-trafficking investigation leads to charges against 19 people in northern B.C.

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Oct, 2024 03:51 PM

Federal prosecutors have approved charges against 19 people, eight of them still at large, after an investigation into what police call a violent drug trafficking network in northeastern British Columbia.

A statement from B.C.'s Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit says two of the 11 people who were arrested remain in custody, while the others have been released with conditions as they move through the judicial process.

It says the other eight, all men, are wanted on outstanding charges that include trafficking, possession of a restricted firearm and careless use or storage of a gun.

The unit says it began an investigation in June 2022, working alongside police in Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson to target alleged drug trafficking and "violent activity" threatening public safety.

It says the execution of search warrants in several Peace Region communities between October 2022 and January 2023 turned up illicit drugs and guns and led to the arrests of 23 people who were released while prosecutors considered charges.

The unit says the Public Prosecution Service of Canada approved charges this month against 19 people ranging in age from 24 to 63 years old.

The investigation "unveiled an alleged drug trafficking network causing significant harm to the Peace Region communities," Sgt. Brenda Winpenny with the combined special forces unit said in the statement issued Wednesday.

Several of those charged are facing one count of drug possession or trafficking, while one man from Fort St. John faces seven counts of trafficking.

Police are asking for the public's help in locating the eight men at large, and anyone with information is asked to call local police or Crime Stoppers.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

24 properties evacuated as precarious rock looms over Penticton homes

The City of Penticton says it has temporarily evacuated 24 properties in a mobile home park over fears of a potential rock slide. The city says it was notified on Tuesday morning about a large rock that may break off a cliff, and a geotechnical engineer's review prompted the evacuation of the properties in the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park.

24 properties evacuated as precarious rock looms over Penticton homes

2nd degree murder charge laid in death of 18 year old Mehakpreet Sethi

A second-degree murder charge has been laid in the death of an 18-year-old outside a Surrey high school last year. Homicide investigators say an 18-year-old man has been charged, but his name won’t be released because he was a youth at the time of the death.

2nd degree murder charge laid in death of 18 year old Mehakpreet Sethi

B.C. unfairly clawed back COVID-19 benefit to thousands during pandemic, says report

Thousands of people in British Columbia saw their $1,000 tax-free COVID-19 benefit unfairly clawed back by the provincial government, says an ombudsperson report. So far, 12,000 people have been told to repay their B.C. Emergency Benefit that the government said was for workers who had been affected by the pandemic, Ombudsperson Jay Chalke said Tuesday.

B.C. unfairly clawed back COVID-19 benefit to thousands during pandemic, says report

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year

The federal government recorded a budgetary deficit of $8.2 billion between April and September, $3.9 billion of which was in September. The finance department says in its monthly fiscal monitor that the deficit between April and September compared to a surplus of $1.7 billion during the same period last year.

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year

Locked out Rogers Communications workers in B.C. ratify five-year contract

Nearly 300 Rogers Communications workers have voted strongly in favour of a new contract, ending a company lockout that began two weeks ago. The United Steelworkers union Local 1944, Unit 60, says in a statement that its members voted 96 per cent in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement reached last Friday.

Locked out Rogers Communications workers in B.C. ratify five-year contract

'Bank of mom and dad' study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own

A Statistics Canada study into what it calls the "bank of mom and dad" shows home ownership among young high earners in British Columbia increases more than anywhere else in Canada if their parents are homeowners, too. The study also finds that nationally, people born in the 1990s are twice as likely to own a home if their parents are homeowners, compared to those whose parents are not.