Police lay charges after seizing nearly $700K in drugs during raid
Three Calgary men are facing dozens of charges in the third-biggest seizure of fentanyl by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT).
Assisted by Calgary police, members of ALERT’s organized crime team raided three homes on Aug. 8, part of a what Staff Sgt. Garth Kowalyk described as a short, threeweek investigation into suspected drug-trafficking activity in the city.
“It’s very satisfying for a shortterm endeavour,” he said.
“It shows the focus and value of a collaborative approach between municipal agencies, the RCMP and the community.”
The raid, which involved homes in Douglasdale, Radisson Heights and Saddle Ridge, netted police nearly $700,000 worth of drugs and cash, including 3,139 fentanyl pills.
ALERT alleges a cocaine conversion lab was being operated out of the home in Douglasdale.
More than just taking illicit drugs off the street, Kowalyk said the seizures represent a significant improvement to community safety.
“It is a concern for law enforcement,” he said.
“We’re getting to quantities where it adversely affects the homes that are around it, and obviously it’s a benefit to organized crime.”
Also seized in the raid were nearly 500 grams of heroin, 1.4 kilograms of cocaine, 1.1 kilograms of methamphetamines, 8.9 kilograms of marijuana and nearly $23,000 in cash.
Given the amount of money and drugs seized, Kowalyk said investigators were surprised no weapons were found in the raids.
ALERT’s largest fentanyl seizure came in February 2015, when a raid in Calgary by the multi-jurisdictional police agency netted 11,597 pills.
The largest amount of pills confiscated by CPS came out of a December 2016 seizure that saw police confiscate 35,321 fentanyl tablets.
Alberta’s biggest fentanyl bust occurred last month in Edmonton, when police in that city took 130,000 pills of the street — a seizure that also ranks as the highest nationally.
Facing numerous charges are Cong Nguyen, 36, Hoang Duong, 33, and Scott Smith, 29 — all allegedly higher-level players in the local drug trade, and all with histories with police, Kowalyk said.
“You never know, when you have a search warrant, what you’re going to find in a home,” he said.
“In this one, we were able to generate a search warrant that yielded very successful results.
“It’s a good seizure.”
It shows the focus and value of a collaborative approach between municipal agencies, the RCMP and the community.