RCMP arrest 6, seize drugs and gold bars in B.C.
Some of the seized items are shown. (RCMP)
Six people were arrested and a significant amount of drugs, cash, and gold and silver bars were seized from properties on Vancouver Island and in Vancouver last year, the RCMP said Thursday.
The arrests came after federal organized crime teams based on Vancouver Island executed six search warrants at homes in Vancouver and Victoria, as well as on five vehicles in the two communities.
The searches spanned between September and December, based on information from federal investigators as well from the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Los Angeles.
During the 11 searches, police found significant amounts of more than a dozen drugs, as well as $367,346 in cash, 15 ounces of gold – estimated to be worth about $35,988 – and 205 ounces of silver, estimated to be worth about $5,977, according to RCMP.
"In B.C., criminal organizations have made significant investments in the illicit drug trade which has had a lasting negative impact on our society," said Supt. Richard Bergevin, Officer in Charge of the B.C. RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime – Major Projects.
"The damage to our communities is immeasurable and families across our country continue to feel the losses to overdose and addiction," he said.
A list of the different drugs seized, according to RCMP, can be found below:
- 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, along with approximately 26 kilograms of buff such as benzocaine and procaine
- 1.5 kilograms of MDMA/MDA (ecstasy)
- 0.5 kilograms of ketamine
- 0.5 kilograms of methamphetamine
- 6,770 doses of LSD
- 5,000 tablets of counterfeit Xanax (Etizolam)
- 60 litres of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
- 2 lbs of dried cannabis / 534 packages edible cannabis products
- 2.5 lbs psilocybin
- 115 bottles of anabolic steroids in 35 different chemical forms
- 0.5 kilograms assorted drugs such as opium and heroin cut with fentanyl; N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT); 5-Methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DiPT, aka Foxy Methoxy); and benzylpiperazin (BZP).
Police say hundreds of illicit edible cannabis products were also seized, such as gummies, chocolate, granola, pills, THC water enhancers, THC patches, THC hot chocolate – as well as concentrated cannabis extracts, vaping products, and dried cannabis.
Mounties say no charges have been laid yet, and the investigation is ongoing.
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