2 facing charges after multiple drugs, gun seized during investigation

Victoria police say two men are facing charges after cocaine, fentanyl, meth, counterfeit oxycodone, and a loaded firearm were seized earlier this year.

Police said in early February, VicPD Strike Force officers began investigating a “dial-a-dope” drug trafficking operation in Victoria.

According to police, “dial-a-dope” drug trafficking operation involves a drug trafficker receiving orders for drugs via phone call or text message.

The officers identified high-level drug and weapons traffickers operating in the Victoria area,  police said.

Throughout February and early March, the officers seized cocaine, fentanyl, and a loaded 9 mm firearm from multiple suspects. The investigation also led to the Strike Force officers seizing a kilogram of cocaine and several additional ounces of fentanyl.

Then on March 10, Strike Force officers and assistance of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT), arrested one of the suspects in Victoria.

The officers and GVERT then carried out a search warrant at a suite associated with one of the suspects in a an apartment building in the 300-block of Burnside Road East.

Officers seized an additional quarter kilogram of cocaine, along with significant quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone, and approximately $5,000 in cash.

The street value of the more than one-and-a-quarter kilograms of cocaine is over $150,000, police said.

Joshua Stark, a 43-year-old Victoria man, was charged with two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance.

Dimitar Vitchev, a 34-year-old Victoria man, was charged with five counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, four counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one count of trafficking a firearm.

None of the charges have been proven in court.

Anyone with information about drug trafficking or firearms in Victoria is asked call the VicPD Strike Force line directly at (250) 995-7260.

A handgun seized by VicPD as part of a drug-trafficking investigation in 2020. (Victoria police)

Cocaine seized by VicPD as part of a drug-trafficking investigation in 2020. (Victoria police)

Fentanyl seized by VicPD as part of a drug-trafficking investigation in 2020. (Victoria police)

Editorial Policies Report an Error