The seizure was made Friday at a business in the 700-block of Vanalman Avenue, marking the culmination of a months-long investigation by the Saanich Police Department. (Saanich police)
More than $100,000 worth of vaping products have been seized by Saanich police detectives who say the items were being marketed and sold at schools throughout B.C.'s capital region.
The seizure was made Friday at a business in the 700-block of Vanalman Avenue, marking the culmination of a months-long investigation by the Saanich Police Department.
No arrests have been made in the case and the investigation is ongoing.
Detectives began investigating reports that vaping products were being sold to students at Saanich middle and high schools in November.
In the months since, police witnessed people selling vaping products to minors at schools across Greater Victoria, both during and after school hours, according to the department.
The same people were also seen selling to young people at malls and parks, accepting cash or cards through portable point-of-sale terminals.
Investigators allege the salespeople used food delivery bags, duffle bags and plastic totes to conceal the controlled products.
The sellers contacted minors primarily through the social media platform Snapchat to advertise their products before sending direct messages to confirm prices and schedule a delivery time and location, according to police.
"It is clear that the items are branded and marketed in such a way to entice youth into buying them, and these individuals specifically targeted schools to sell their products," Saanich police spokesperson Const. Markus Anastasiades said in a statement Wednesday.
Officers with the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team assisted in executing the search warrant on the Vanalman Avenue business on Friday.
Police say investigators seized over $100,000 worth of vaping products, including vape kits, vape pens, e-cigarettes, e-liquids, and fluid tanks.
They also seized liquids that contained up to 98 per cent THC, and some tobacco products, according to police.
The distribution of tobacco and vaping products to minors is prohibited under the federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act.
The federal budget implementation bill passed the House of Commons on Thursday, after days of Conservative attempts to block it.
As wildfires rage across Canada in what’s being called an unprecedented season, one expert says there’s more that individuals and communities can do to adapt and prevent forest fires from causing widespread devastation.
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
In the wake of the Bank of Canada’s unexpected rate hike, economists are pointing to further tightening in the near term.
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday.
As bystanders screamed for help, a man with a knife stabbed four young children at a lakeside park in the French Alps on Thursday, assaulting at least one in a stroller repeatedly. The children between 22 months and 3 years old suffered life-threatening injuries, and two adults also were wounded, authorities said.
Government House Leader Mark Holland has unveiled the federal Liberals' plans to make hybrid sittings a permanent feature in the House of Commons.
The decision to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women and who will fund it remains up in the air a month after a feasibility study was completed.
Smoke has eased in much of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, but air quality advisories remain in place.
A youth curling coach who was a three-time Brazilian champion in the sport has pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual interference, according to authorities in B.C.
Police in Port Moody are asking the public for help locating a young couple that hasn't been seen in two weeks.
An evacuation order was issued for an area near the McLeod River in Yellowhead County on Thursday at noon.
A self-proclaimed spiritual leader and his wife are facing more sexual assault charges, Edmonton police announced Thursday.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is playing down an earlier pledge to create a council of defeated Edmonton candidates to advise her.
Video has surfaced showing a Mississauga, Ont. transit bus plowing into stopped traffic in a crash that left one person dead and at least eight injured on Thursday morning.
An officer who admitted to playing a part in a scheme to cheat the Toronto Police Service promotions procedure has been temporarily demoted instead.
A European family who says they were evicted from their long-term Airbnb rental in Toronto last week has sparked a precedent-setting fight.
One person was injured after a trench collapsed in the community of Charleswood on Thursday.
The Town of Magrath issued an alert for dangerous animal after a cougar was spotted on the Magrath nature trail early Thursday morning.
After a string of devastating setbacks, a Calgary family has just had a significant change of luck.
Quebec's public security minister preached patience on Thursday as fires continued to rage in the province's north, saying it remained unclear when more than 12,000 people displaced by the encroaching flames would be able to return home.
Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre, who spent his life in politics, collapsed and suffered a stroke on April 11, and even as he's slowly recovering, the fighter's instinct, that he's known for, is very much alive.
An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
A company at the centre of a community fight over what residents in the town of Beaurivage, N.B. say is a powerful stench has been ordered to cease operations.
A storm that tore through a community northwest of Brandon Wednesday brought with it heavy winds and, in some areas, hail the size of softballs.
A 25-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a crash that left two Winnipeg police officers with serious injuries.
A Manitoba school trustee has been suspended over social media posts the division says targeted the LGBTQ2S+ community.
A cyclist has been taken to an out-of-region hospital with what police call “potentially serious injuries” after a crash involving a vehicle in Kitchener.
Firefighters were called to the house on Laurel Street around noon Thursday.
Fire officials have confirmed there were no working smoke alarms at a fatal house fire in Waterloo earlier this week.
Regina's mayor says the city's fire department had growing concerns about the health, safety and well-being of those living in a homeless camp that was dismantled on Wednesday morning.
Regina city councillors decided on Wednesday to not impose sanctions or corrective measures on Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens for a violation of the city’s confidentiality bylaw.
Flooded underpasses have been a common occurrence in Regina this spring with several thunderstorms dumping heavy rain on the city, but Mayor Sandra Masters says several solutions are in the works to help prevent further flooding.
The grief-stricken parents of a young teen killed in his driveway in Barrie in 2021 delivered haunting victim impact statements in court Thursday, recalling the day their "world was destroyed."
The shifting winds late Thursday morning are predicted to push high levels of air pollution over the City of Barrie and surrounding areas from smoke emanating from wildfires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario.
Huronia West OPP charged a Collingwood man after threats were made involving a gun in Wasaga Beach.
A man who killed his ex-wife’s cousin will spend life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, a judge decided on Thursday at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench.
Long-time city councillor and former Saskatchewan Liberal MLA Glen Penner died on Monday, according to a Saskatoon obituary.
Significant property tax hikes may be needed to cover a funding shortfall, according to City of Saskatoon administration.
A wildfire west of Sudbury, Ont., has quadrupled in size prompting evacuation orders to be expanded and one highway to close.
A fifth person in northern Ontario has been charged in less than a week for having a campfire during the fire ban.
Thousands of Canadians have had to leave their homes in several provinces over the last few weeks due to forest fires. Luckily, there are steps you can take to protect your property, both prior to an evacuation and during.
