Surrey RCMP show off seized drugs, reveal shootings on rise

Surrey Mounties showed off a drug haul worth more than $4.5 million Friday as they revealed shootings are on the rise again this year.

Since Jan. 1, there have been 28 confirmed incidents of shots fired, with five people injured and one killed so far.

The shootings spiked in March, Supt. Manny Mann told reporters at a news conference.

“Over the last few weeks, the Surrey RCMP has seen an increase in shotsfired calls, which is understandably causing concern for both the public and the police,” he said.

“I can tell you that a majority of these incidents are targeted, which leads us to believe there is not a significant threat to public safety.”

Mann said the suspects linked to the recent violence are not associated to the warring drug gangs involved in the 2015 conflict. In fact, the vacuum left by arrests last year has resulted in new players becoming involved in the street level drug trade, he said.

“After making over 800 arrests and detentions last year, we disrupted those who were involved in the drug conflicts last year,” he said.

He said five of the 28 shootings are related to a conflict between two emerging groups. All are believed linked to disputes over drug territory or dial-a-dope lines. Three people believed to be involved in the shootings are facing charges, he said.

Meanwhile, a Surrey RCMP drug investigation has resulted in one of the biggest seizures ever in the city of heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, crystal meth and fake OxyContin.

RCMP Supt. Shawn Gill stood in front of part of the haul, which he said is worth more than $4.5 million at the wholesale level.

He said the drugs were found when investigators stopped a vehicle driven by Abbotsford resident Pardip Hayer, 30, in Newton on March 16.

He faces four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Gill said the quantity of drugs seized suggests a link to organized crime, though no group has been identified. He said the investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected.

The seizure should save lives, given the volume of fentanyl that was taken off the streets, Gill said.