ALERT makes massive fentanyl bust
Three Edmonton men have been charged following the seizure of 2,000 fentanyl pills at a southwest area condominium, the largest bust of the lethal painkiller by the Edmonton members of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams.
Fentanyl was responsible for the overdose deaths of 274 Albertans in 2015 and another 69 fatalities in the first three months of this year.
ALERT Staff Sgt. Pierre Blais called fentanyl a “dangerous, dirty and deadly drug ” at a news conference Tuesday, one that’s caused tremendous pain and sorrow for “far too many Alberta families.”
While the seizure of 2,000 pills is just a “small portion of what’s out there,” Blais said it also means police potentially saved 2,000 people from overdosing.
“The drug dealers out there, they don’t care about the people using it. They just hope that once you use it, you come back.” On June 3, ALERT intercepted a vehicle returning to the Edmonton area from B.C.’s lower mainland and seized a large quantity of drugs, including several kilograms of marijuana.
“They got comfortable in their business practice and probably didn’t think the police were on to them,” he said.
ALERT, a specialized organized crime and gang investigation team, searched two vehicles and three home in Edmonton, including the Haddow neighbourhood condominium on Hanna Crescent, which was likely used as a stash site. Two other homes were searched in Rutherford and Lewis Estates.
The fentanyl pills are believed to have also come from B.C., ALERT said.
In addition to the fentanyl pills, police seized: 58 kilograms of marijuana four kilograms of packaged marijuana shatter, a crystallized and more potent form of marijuana that can be consumed through vaporization five grams of cocaine body armour a Taser 650 rounds of ammunition and a prohibited magazine $26,000 cash proceeds of crime Two vehicles, worth an estimated $35,000 were seized as offence related property.
In total, the drugs seized have an estimated value of $866,000.
One of the two vehicles seized was equipped with a hidden compartment used for transporting drugs. The vehicles and cash will be submitted to civil forfeiture, ALERT said.
ALERT began its investigation in May and alleges the accused were bringing drugs in from B.C. and distributing them in the Edmonton area.
The “criminal network” had likely been operating for months, if not longer, Blais said.
The fentanyl seizure is the largest of its kind by the Edmonton ALERT team and is the agency’s third largest fentanyl seizure. ALERT’s largest was last February in Calgary, with the seizure of more than 11,500 pills.
Christopher Jervis, 28, has been charged with 10 counts of the possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a firearm contrary to an order, and possession of a prohibited magazine.
James Jervis-Hilker, 35, has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Billy Roche, 28, has been charged with four counts of the possession for the purpose of trafficking, and had four outstanding warrants.