FOUR CHARGED IN MAJOR DRUG BUST
From the outside, two Calgary homes appeared typical — but police say were being used as stash houses for large amounts of drugs and weapons.
Inside, they were packed to the rafters with heroin, crystal meth, pot, cocaine, high-powered rifles and knives being used by key players supplying street dealers, police allege.
A public tip to police led to a month-long undercover investigation into the alleged organized trafficking ring. Four people are charged.
“They seemed to be a distributor to help supply street level drug trade,” said Dist. 4 Staff Sgt. Geoff Gawlinski. “These four are definitely the main players in distributing what we see here today. To get this high quantity, you have to be getting supplied by somebody that’s connected.”
Investigators say they’re still trying to determine the source of the drugs.
The dial-a-dope investigation led police to a car and two homes — one in the Red Carpet Trailer Court in the 6200 block of 17th Avenue S.E., and the other in the 900 block of Pensdale Crescent S.E.
Investigators seized more than $98,000 in methamphetamine, $52,000 in marijuana, $30,000 in heroin and $11,000 in cocaine, as well as OxyContin and codeine, during searches last Thursday. Police also found weapons, including four longbarrelled rifles, a revolver, swords, machetes, a Taser-style knuckleduster, a flare gun and bear spray.
The suspects went to great lengths with “counter surveillance,” setting up cameras outside the trailer to monitor who was coming and going, police say.
Drugs found in the trailer were concealed throughout the home, he said.
“We had to look in cereal boxes and all sorts of concealed spots — in everyday items you wouldn’t think you’d be finding drugs in.”
David Lee Little, 37, Jeremy Douglas Mockler, 34, Brandi Lee Ellis, 34, and Jani Kristian Suutarinen, 37, have all been charged with multiple drug and weapons-related offences.