Dealer jailed as fentanyl conference gets underway
A baby-faced drug dealer nabbed in the first Edmonton seizure of the deadly fentanyl opioid by organized crime investigators was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison on Thursday.
Adrian Laureno Cambiazo, 21, earlier pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of ecstasy for the purpose of trafficking in relation to a March 18, 2015, bust by members of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) — their first such seizure in Edmonton.
According to an agreed statement of facts, police raided a west Edmonton condo after observing Cambiazo carrying out a suspected drug deal. Officers seized 1,086 fentanyl pills, 950 grams of cocaine, 321 grams of ecstasy and $67,780 in cash.
Court heard the street value of the illegal drugs was approximately $144,000 and police also discovered there was a secret, hydraulically operated compartment in Cambiazo’s Honda CRV.
Provincial court Judge Larry Anderson ruled it was a “very serious” offence involving “very serious” drugs, including fentanyl, which he described as a “very dangerous” drug due to its potency.
“This is a scourge that has to be stopped,” said Anderson, noting a report by the Alberta Medical Examiner’s office detailing the dangers of the deadly drug, which has been blamed for hundreds of overdose deaths in the province.
Anderson said it’s also aggravating that Cambiazo was selling drugs to make money and he was involved in a fairly sophisticated operation that was selling large amounts of serious drugs.
However, the judge ruled it was mitigating that Cambiazo — a short, rosy-cheeked man originally from Vancouver with no prior criminal record — had pleaded guilty, he is young with good family support and positive letters of reference and is “genuinely remorseful.”
The Crown had sought an eightyear prison sentence.
Speaking at the opening of a fentanyl conference hosted by the RCMP in Sherwood Park on Thursday and Friday, Edmonton Police Service Insp. Dwayne Lakusta said his force has provided extensive training to front-line officers about how to recognize and manage the drug if they come across it, and has introduced safe handling procedures for dealing with fentanyl.
Lakusta, who leads the force’s Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) unit, said they have also acquired an instrument used to safely analyze drugs through their packaging.
Police are also hoping to tackle the fentanyl issue through the courts, and are working with Crown prosecutors and the medical examiner’s office on a number of cases where investigators are trying to gather enough evidence to lay manslaughter or criminal negligence causing death charges against traffickers or dealers who have supplied drugs that have led to overdose deaths, Lakusta said.
Although many of the 400 attendees at the RCMP’s conference work in law enforcement, several speakers stressed that “we cannot arrest our way out of the problem.”
Much of the focus was on safety for responders who encounter fentanyl. A dose of just 2 mg, about the size of two grains of salt, is lethal.
British Columbia RCMP Cpl. Eric Boechler showed off what he said was one of the first Naloxone nasal spray kits to arrive in Canada. Naloxone blocks and reverses the effects of opioids. Police forces, health workers and social agencies across Canada have begun using injectable doses of Naloxone to prevent overdose deaths, but Alberta RCMP is in the process of switching to a nasal spray version that is easier to use.