Three people have been arrested in a drug trafficking investigation after police executed search warrants at 12 properties and vehicles across five South Island municipalities last month.
West Shore RCMP led the investigation which involved around 40 police officers from the RCMP Emergency Response Team, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit – British Columbia (CFSEU-BC), Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team and Victoria Police Strike Force.
The search warrants were executed on Jan. 31 in four Langford properties, one in Colwood, one in View Royal, one in North Saanich, two in Victoria and three vehicles.
One of the Langford properties included the Savages Motorcycle Club, which RCMP says has ties to organized crime.
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Across the 12 warrants, police seized approximately 450 grams of fentanyl, approximately 150 grams of methamphetamine, over 200 grams of psilocybin, hundreds of various pills, smaller amounts of powdered and crack cocaine, and another kilogram of an unknown substance, over $46,000 in cash, an SKS rifle, a prohibited handgun, an imitation handgun, and other evidence of drug trafficking.
“Four-hundred-and-fifty grams of Fentanyl at minimum would make up 4,500 individual doses. However, this number could be drastically higher and in the tens of thousands based upon the purity level of the Fentanyl. Investigators won’t know the purity level until lab testing is complete,” said Cpl. Nancy Saggar, West Shore RCMP media relations officer in a news release.
Two of the people who were arrested were men from Langford, aged 45 and 41, one of whom was a member of the Savages Motorcycle Club, and the third was a woman from Colwood, aged 27.
“CFSEU-BC, along with all of its law enforcement partners, are committed to ensuring that outlaw motorcycle gangs and their associates remain a priority due to the level of violence and harm they inflict on our communities,” says Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, CFSEU-BC’s media relations officer in a news release.
“The Savages outlaw motorcycle gang (OMG) is known to be a support club for the Hells Angels. The arrests associated with this investigation, including that of a full-patch member of the Savages OMG, are significant in our efforts to fulfill our mandate in addressing public safety.”
Laura Brougham
