B.C. man facing drug charges after Medicine Hat bust granted bail

A B.C. man charged in connection to what police are calling the largest one-time drug bust in Medicine Hat’s history has been released from custody following his bail hearing Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court.

Michael Abate was released on $2,500 bail and conditions that he live in Surrey, B.C., and obey a nightly curfew. He was also prohibited from possessing a cellphone and having any contact with a woman who was also charged in connection with the drug bust last week.

Medicine Hat’s organized crime team stopped a vehicle early Friday on Highway 3 just inside city limits. Police found in the trunk of the rental vehicle 1.02 kilograms of methamphetamine and 226 grams of cocaine, worth about $125,000.

Shonna Scriven, 47, of Medicine Hat, was charged with two counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime. She remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in Medicine Hat court today.

Abate, 28, was simultaneously arrested in Lethbridge and charged with drug trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime. He was represented Wednesday by Calgary lawyer Tonii Roulston, and his next court appearance is set for Jan. 22.

The kilo of meth is considered a wholesale amount and is the equivalent of about 20,000 doses, which is a significant amount taken off the street, police said. In Friday’s drug bust police seized nearly as much as was seized in Medicine Hat all of last year, which, police suggest, shows the growing methamphetamine problem in the community.