Does this press release sound whiney to you?
Two Local Drug Dealers Shutdown by the RCMP
April 20th, 2007, Prince Rupert BC - Members of the Prince Rupert RCMP executed search warrants on two local drug traffickers last week. On Wednesday, the 11th of April, a warrant was executed on a residence in the 800 block of 6th Ave East. An ounce of cocaine was seized from the 28 year old male resident. Charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking are being recommended by police.
The following night, Thursday the 12th of April, members executed a search warrant on a residence in the 500 block of 8th Ave East. Police seized nearly a pound of marihuana and arrested the 29 year old resident. Charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking are also being recommended against that individual.
While these charges represent only two individuals, thousands of dollars worth of illegal drugs were taken off of Prince Rupert’s streets in each of these two cases. Your local RCMP detachment understands that many of our citizens can sometimes grow impatient, waiting for action to be taken on what they see as flagrant drug activity in their neighborhood. We ask that you keep in mind that these investigations take time. One of these latest investigations was begun back in October of last year.
Certainly, shutting down the street level traffickers is important. It is also important that we attempt to follow these dealers back to the source. Being able to track the supply back up the chain helps us to go after the larger suppliers. We must also ensure that our investigations will stand up to scrutiny when tested in the courts. It is important to get these drugs off the streets but equally important to provide the Crown with a solid case on which to prosecute to offenders.
These files also require a substantial amount of manpower to investigate. Many members are required to investigate, conduct surveillance, and meet the grounds required to obtain a search warrant. During the execution of a search warrant, more are required to ensure the safety of the public, the members involved, and the occupants of the residence being searched. Operating eight officers short of what our detachment strength should be, means it can be sometimes challenging to keep enough members on shift to respond to calls and free up members to investigate these files. At the municipal detachment level, responding to calls for service must always take precedence. That means that, sometimes, these investigations take longer than we would like.
One of the most important investigative elements to drug investigations is information. Whether these tips comes from Crimestoppers, our complaints line, or other police sources, we need information to further these investigations. The more detailed the information we receive, the better the likelihood that we’ll shut down the drug dealers in your neighborhood.
Anyone with information on these or any other crimes are asked to contact the Prince Rupert RCMP or Crimestoppers at 627-8477. Crimestoppers does not require that you leave your name and you may be eligible for a cash reward.
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