
Saanich Police said a sawed-off shotgun and drugs were seized Wednesday as part of an investigation into a suspected drug trafficker.
This past month, Saanich Police’s Drug and Property Crime Section and Sidney/North Saanich RCMP started investigating a suspected drug trafficker. Officers believed the suspect was trafficking in drugs in Saanich and throughout the Greater Victoria area.
On June 28, officers saw the suspect and two other individuals conduct a number of alleged drug deals. Saanich Police, along with Victoria police, then arrested the suspects, two men and one woman, in the 2600 block of Douglas Street. During the arrest, officers found meth, cocaine, heroin, cash, ammunition and a sawed-off shotgun.
Michael Phillip Desbiens, 32, of Sidney, B.C., James Derosier, 42, of Victoria and Marin Elyse Marie Gillis, 26, of Saanich, are all facing multiple drug charges and firearm related offences. Desbiens and Derosier appeared in Victoria Provincial Court Thursday and Gillis will appear in court in August.
“This is another example of how our various police agencies work together during the course of our investigations,” Sgt. Dean Jantzen of Saanich Police said in a statement.
“We all have a common goal of keeping our communities safe and getting drugs and guns off our streets is a high priority.”