Image Credit: CKPG Today

By Tommy Osborne / CKPG Today

Drug Seizure

RCMP execute largest drug bust in Prince George history

Aug 23, 2024 | 3:36 PM

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — On August 21, 2024, Prince George RCMP made the largest drug seizure in Prince George history.

“In total, nearly 40 kilograms of illicit drugs, including suspected fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, over 11 kilograms of cannabis, approximately 11 kilograms of an unknown cutting agent, and approximately 120,000 counterfeit cigarettes, and more than half a million dollars in cash were located and seized,” said Prince George RCMP Corporal Jennifer Cooper.

The drug bust began when RCMP received a report of a break-and-enter occurring at a residence on the 4400 block of fifth avenue. During this investigation, police noticed a large amount of counterfeit cigarettes in the home, and from there police obtained a search warrant and discovered the drugs.

“It is obvious we can no longer ignore the effects of the B.C. gang conflict in Prince George, and this is a clear indication that more than our local drug traffickers are using Prince George as a base of operations. We will be increasing our enforcement efforts in this area to reflect these developments,” Cooper said.

“This will take a significant bite out of the local drug trade. This is going to disrupt their activity for quite a while while they try and figure out what their next steps are,” Cooper continued.

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The investigation has just begun so it’s too early to say anything conclusive, but police say it’s likely this is gang related.

“The preliminary investigation would suggest that it is in fact gang related. There are elements of organized crime, they would be the only people that would be able to move this amount of drugs into this location. As for the exact source, who the gangs are that are behind that, we don’t know at this point, but we believe it’s gang related,” Inspector Darrin Rappel said.

“This is a very large amount of drugs, so certainly we will see an impact. This very well likely involves all of North District. There may be a distribution component to this given the volume, but we certainly expect that it would be an impact,” Rappel continued.

There was only one person in the residence when the drug bust occurred, and no arrests have been made at the moment, as RCMP have to send the suspected drugs to labs to confirm that it is what they think it is. Following that, the investigation will continue to determine what arrests can be made, and what further action the RCMP can take to further make a dent in organized crime and the local drug trade.

“We have to have a national lab clearly determine what these drugs are, unequivocally determine what the drugs are, before we can make any arrests,” Cooper said.

The RCMP also wanted to say thank you to the citizen who initially reported the break and enter, as that is what lead to the biggest drug bust in our city’s history, and RCMP encourage people to continue reporting suspicious activity, as you never know what it may uncover.