Saanich police bust ring allegedly selling vape products at Greater Victoria schools
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.