Two Saanich men are facing charges after they were arrested following a month-long police investigation into drug trafficking.
The suspects were caught in a joint operation between VicPD’s Strike Force, VicPD’s Analysis and Intelligence Section (AIS), and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT).
The arrests were made after police responded to community complaints that the two men were specifically targeting people struggling with addiction at local shelters for sales of cocaine and fentanyl.
On March 11, Strike Force and GVERT officers executed a search warrant at a residence in the 4000-block of Orion Place in Saanich, as well as on three vehicles.
During the search, Strike Force officers found cash as well as amounts of fentanyl and cocaine consistent with drug trafficking.
“The arrests come after a month-long investigation that involved investigative techniques and surveillance which tracked the men as they allegedly sold drugs to some of the most marginalized members of our communities at multi-unit residential temporary housing facilities and shelters,” said VicPD in a release on Monday.
Police say these arrests come in the midst of the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic, in which drugs like fentanyl have killed thousands of British Columbians.
The two men face recommended charges related to drug trafficking.
READ MORE: B.C.’s opioid crisis continues as overdose deaths surpass 100 for 10th consecutive month
Rebecca Lawrence
