Men elect to stand trial for some of many charges stemming from largest drug bust in Lethbridge

Two men set to begin a preliminary hearing on more than two dozen charges relating to the city’s largest ever drug bust have consented to stand trial on just a portion of them.

The hearing for Drew Daniel Boake and Alexandre Herbert was scheduled for three days and set to begin Monday in Lethbridge provincial court, but after some last-minute negotiations between the Crown and defence, the two accused agreed to go to trial on four of 25 charges. The Crown withdrew the remaining charges.

Boake and Herbert, who have not been in custody and attended court with their lawyers, now each face three counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking. Boake also faces an additional charge of possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000.

Crown prosecutor John Oman told court the charges are for the alleged possession of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine, and the possession of a large amount of cash police seized during raids on four Lethbridge homes in February 2017.

Police reported that ALERT, the organized crime and gang team, began an investigation in December 2016 after police received information about a group of suspected drug dealers operating in Lethbridge.

Police stopped a vehicle Feb. 11, 2017 on Highway 3 just outside the city as it was returning from the B.C. Lower Mainland. Four kilograms of cannabis resin were found stashed inside a hidden compartment.

After the traffic stop police searched a home on 11th Street N., and homes on Ryerson Road, Lasalle Terrace and Modesto Road West. Significant quantities of drugs were seized from all the homes.

Police reportedly seized more than $1.2 million in drugs, firearms and proceeds of crime, calling it the largest drug bust in Lethbridge. Seized were 8,054 ecstasy pills, 546 grams of cocaine, 305 grams of methamphetamine, 20.9 kilograms of marijuana, 4.5 kilograms of cannabis resin, nine kilograms of psilocybin mushrooms, 1,605 tabs of LSD and 1,575 Xanax pills.

Also seized were four firearms, $120,000 cash and four vehicles valued at $140,000. Equipment used to manufacture cannabis resin, including a marijuana dehydrator and an extractor, were also found, as well as a cash-counting machine and a radio jammer, which is used to disrupt police radio frequencies.

Boake, 28, and Herbert, 30, are scheduled to be arraigned April 23 in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench where they may set a trial date. Both men have elected to be tried by a Queen’s Bench judge without a jury.

A third person was also arrested during the raids. Katlyn Robinson, 24, had been charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, one count of possession of proceeds of crime and one count of drug possession. However, all her charges were previously withdrawn.