Editor’s note: Following publication of this report, charges against Olivia Greenland, Justin Firth and Jai Nayyar were stayed and withdrawn.
A 17-year-old is among five people facing charges related to cocaine trafficking after an Inuvik raid, RCMP say.
In a news release, Inuvik detachment commander S/Sgt Jesse Aubin said officers’ efforts had “resulted in a significant disruption to the local drug trade and the results speak for themselves.”
The latest arrests came after police were called to an apartment building on December 8, RCMP stated.
Police say they “located signs of drug trafficking” in the apartment and arrested the occupants, including a 17-year-old from Surrey, BC said by police to have had 40 grams of crack cocaine on their person.
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“A search warrant was applied for and the search resulted in the seizure of just over $41,000 of cash as well as other drug paraphernalia associated with drug trafficking,” RCMP stated.
Others charged include Inuvik duo Olivia Greenland, 28, and Justin Firth, 35, as well as 18-year-old Jesus Villanueva of Edmonton and 19-year-old Jai Nayyar of St Catharines, Ontario.
This is the second time in recent weeks that a youth aged under 18 – who cannot be identified, by law – has been charged in connection with Inuvik’ drugs trade.
At the end of November, police said a separate 17-year-old from Toronto had been detained at Inuvik’s airport with around $9,000 during a drug trafficking investigation.
