A 10-month investigation focusing on people with links to the Red Scorpion gang has led to several arrests and the seizure drugs, weapons and cash.
Nanaimo RCMP say officers found more than 13.6 kilograms of dried cannabis, substances believed to be cocaine, crystal meth and fentanyl, drug paraphernalia, passports and more than $93,000 in cash.
The first search warrant in the police operation, led by the Nanaimo RCMP, was executed in Nanaimo’s Linley Valley area in April 2018 and led to the seizure of 10 ounces of what is believed to be fentanyl, $35,000 in Canadian currency and four firearms.
Three men were charged with a number of drug-trafficking offences and are currently before the courts.
Several more searches were carried out between Dec. 15 and Dec. 18 in Nanaimo, Vancouver and Richmond. Nanaimo officers were assisted by the Vancouver Police Department, Richmond RCMP and the RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime Section.
Four men were arrested during the Nanaimo searches, but no charges have been laid.
Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien said the police operation will have an effect on drug activity. “We recognize it will put a dent [in it], it will disrupt it in the short term,” he said. “As to how long that is, time will tell.”
Police know that when one drug outfit is affected, another will step in to try to fill the void, O’Brien said. “Our objective is to keep this down as long as possible and find out who is the next player that wants to move in, and that’s always difficult.”
He said Nanaimo RCMP regularly works with its Vancouver-area colleagues. “We share lots of intelligence because there’s a flow of the organized criminals coming across, we know that,” O’Brien said.
That co-operation has been seen in the current operation, he said. Some of the searches had to be carried out at the same time, so suspects weren’t tipped off.
“And because these guys all have a propensity for violence, for sure, we had all the Lower Mainland emergency response teams involved.”
