Five people were arrested and a numbers of drugs including suspected opioids were seized in an RCMP bust at a Nanaimo motel and a nearby home.
Mounties and the Vancouver Island Emergency Response Team executed two search warrants last Thursday, one at a central Nanaimo motel and another at a home on Beavercreek Crescent.
The ERT was called in due to the possibly of weapons present at both locations. Officers arrested five people and seized two ounces of suspected opioids, three ounces of cocaine, 8.5 ounces of meth, a number of weapons and more than $24,000 in cash.
Among the weapons found were a Tazer disguised as a cell phone, a crossbow, knives, batons, replica guns and an Uzi pellet gun and ammunition.
Curtis Houle, 32, Micheal Byrne, 39, Bailey Martin, 23, Kelsie Boutilier, 18 and Gerald Johnson, 32, were all taken into custody and charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, RCMP said.
Johnson is also charged with possession of a prohibited device for the Taser.
Three of the suspects have since been released on various conditions and are expected to make their next court appearance in late June.
Sgt. Rob Christenson of Nanaimo RCMP’s Projects Team says the seizure is “significant,” but many other illegal drug markets continue to operate in the city.
“The harm that opioids are causing in our city remains steady and these operations will remain a priority for drug enforcement officers,” Christenson said. “The seizure of these weapons is also a reminder that the drug trade operates on a premise of violence and intimidation in the community they operate from.”
