Editor’s note: Following publication of this report, the case against Skylar Constant was dismissed. Tyrone Stephens was convicted of one count of possessing a firearm without a licence.
RCMP in Hay River say two people face charges after the sight of a person “surreptitiously carrying a firearm to a vehicle” led police to a broader drug bust.
The latest arrests were announced early on Friday in the fourth RCMP news release related to drugs in Hay River since mid-March.
Having seen someone attempting to smuggle a gun to a vehicle and conceal it, RCMP say officers flagged down the vehicle and determined the gun was being transported illegally.
RCMP say officers then found 27 grams of suspected cocaine, bear spray, more than 100 rounds of ammunition and “paraphernalia consistent with trafficking.”
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Twenty-one-year-old Tyrone Stephens and Skylar Constant, 27, both of Hay River, face a range of charges related to illegal firearms and trafficking. Those charges have not yet been tested in court.
RCMP in Hay River previously reported a large fentanyl bust at a Hay River home on March 15, a “hostage rescue” that led to a drug seizure in the town at the end of March, and the seizure of suspected crack cocaine from the car of a 21-year-old.
At a meeting in Hay River last month, Premier RJ Simpson – who is one of the town’s two MLAs – told community leaders his government would make public safety a priority, in part because of what Hay River is going through.
“I am focusing quite a bit on the RCMP this government because of the things we’ve seen first here in Hay River, then KFN with the drugs and the crime,” Simpson said.
“It’s now spread out across the territory. I have a heavy focus on ensuring the RCMP have the legislative tools, the staff to address those issues.
“I can’t say that we have solid plans for it now, but it is part of a longer-term vision.”
