RCMP say six people are in custody after a police operation – one of the first to involve a new armoured vehicle – uncovered suspected crack cocaine, fentanyl and guns at two Hay River locations.
In a Thursday news release, police said raids took place last week at a motel on the Mackenzie Highway (the business was not identified by RCMP) and a home on Cranberry Crescent.
Four of the people charged were described by RCMP as Hay River residents, alongside one from Calgary and one from Edmonton.
Police said they found a gram of suspected crack cocaine, half a gram of a suspected cocaine-fentanyl mix and a loaded handgun at the motel, then a kilo of suspected crack cocaine, about 250 grams of the suspected cocaine-fentanyl mix, another handgun and about $25,000 in cash at the Cranberry Crescent home.
Officers from the Hay River detachment were joined by a police dog unit and members of the territory-wide emergency response team to carry out the operation, RCMP said.
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“To provide an added measure of protection, given information that firearms were believed to be involved, the newly acquired TAV was deployed to assist during the operation,” Thursday’s news release added. “No injuries were reported during the operation.”
The new 22,000-lb, $580,000 tactical armoured vehicle, known as a TAV for short, arrived in the NWT late last year.
Police have said the TAV is a key piece of equipment that lets officers “forward-deploy resources in a safe manner that’s going to be protected from projectiles.” Critics have described it as a “Mad Max vehicle” bought with money that could have been better spent elsewhere.
RCMP said the people in custody face a range of charges related to trafficking and illegal use of guns.
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Police named those charged as Hay River residents Richard Martel, Clarence Sabourin, Tracey Sabourin and Natashia Tourangeau, alongside Sultan Tesfu of Calgary and Abdinasir Mohammed of Edmonton.
“This seizure represents a significant disruption of a crime group operating in the Hay River area,” Insp David Springer was quoted as saying.
“We remain strongly committed to combating drug trafficking in our communities, which causes significant harm, and we thank the public for their continued support in the fight against illicit drug trade.”
