New Westminster Police have unveiled what may well be the largest drug seizure in the department’s history.
The investigation, which began in August, led to the arrest of New Westminster man on Sept. 18. When arrested outside his vehicle, police located body armour inside the vehicle, said police spokesperson Sgt. Sanjay Kumar.
“Subsequent to his arrest, our street crime unit served a search warrant at his residence where investigators seized 12 kilograms of cocaine, 10 kg of methamphetamine, a suitcase that contained approximately $270,000 in cash, two firearms with ammunition, high-end jewelry and various drug-trafficking equipment, as well as two vehicles. The combined street value of the drugs is approximately $1 million,” Kumar said. “This investigation is ongoing, and updates will be released as the investigation progresses.”
The New Westminster Police Department has recommended drug- and firearms-related charges to Crown counsel.
According to Kumar, the suspect was arrested and released with conditions.
“This individual is known to police, but I can’t elaborate on the details, just because it is an ongoing investigation,” he said. “Those details can be released once charges are approved by Crown counsel.”
Kumar said he not could release specific details about the individual’s identity or whether he has any ties to organized crime groups.
“As part of the investigator they are going to look into who his associates are, learn more about this individual and what type of ties he had,” he said.
Kumar said it hasn’t been determined whether the suspect was active in New Westminster.
“As far as risk to the public, I can say that we seized two firearms, a lot of money, ballistic armor – that being said, that is risk in itself to the public,” he said. “So having that now off the streets makes our residents safer.”
Kumar said the New Westminster Police Department’s street crime unit led the investigation, which began in August. It was an interprovincial investigation, in which local police worked in partnership with other policing agencies in B.C.
“There were other jurisdictions involved,” he said. “Unfortunately I can’t relay the information of what other jurisdictions were involved in an effort to protect our investigation.”
Because the investigation is ongoing, New Westminster Police said they could not release specifics related to the case, such as the types of vehicles seized.
Kumar said the drug seizure is “very significant” and likely one of the top seizuresin the police department’s history.
“Our department’s goal and our street crime unit’s goal is to disrupt and destroy organized crime groups in spreading and selling drugs,” he said. “I think the significance of the seizure speaks for itself – the amount of money that we have seized and the amount of drugs that we have seized, the firearms and the ballistic vest.”
Chief Const. Dave Jansen commended the street crime unit for their “exemplary” work and dedication to the case.
“These officers are tremendously dedicated and put in a lot of hard work to bring this file to a successful conclusion,” he said. “These criminal organizations cause untold harm to communities and are responsible for the victimization of so many of our most vulnerable.”
Jansen told the Record the drug seizure hits home because it comes at a time where a poisoned drug supply is killing people across the country.
“This is the one little bit that we can do to try and get these poisoned drugs off the streets,” he said.
Although the recent drug seizure “is the tip of the iceberg,” Jansen said it does prevent it from potentially getting cut down with other products that poison the drug supply.
“I don’t know anything at all about this individual,” he said, “but I think that logically you can draw the conclusion that if people want to make money on it, they are going to cut it down with things that may not be safe.”
Jansen, who has worked with the New Westminster Police Department for 30 years, said the drug seizure may be the largest made by the department, but the department didn’t want to “overstate” if that wasn’t the case.
Kumar said investigations like this address both the drugs and the associated violence.
“We are committed to working with our policing partners to address enforcement, and with our community partners to support prevention and intervention initiatives for vulnerable residents of our community,” he said. “The New Westminster police would like to remind residents that if you are witnessing what you believe to be drug trafficking in your neighbourhood, you are encouraged to call our police department and speak with our street crime unit.”
