A combined effort by the Victoria Police Department (VicPD) and the West Shore RCMP led to one man's arrest and the seizure of 20 firearms, over 20,000 rounds of ammunition, $27,000 in cash, 4.5 kilograms of cocaine and two sets of ballistic armour.
In early June, VicPD's General Investigative Services (GIS) started an investigation into the suspected drug trafficker. The identified suspect's home was located in Langford, in the 800-block of Pintail Place. Because of that, the VicPD's strike force team, West Shore RCMP's emergency response team and emergency services executed a search warrant on the home on June 25.
During the search warrant, the man was arrested and the drugs, weapons, and cash were seized.
He was later released from custody as the investigation continues, but a VicPD spokesperson, Const. Terri Healy, said there is no “immediate concern for community safety.”
Healy said on average, VicPD seizes about 50 to 60 firearms in Victoria and Esquimalt and in this case, they have seized two thirds of that.
“The nature of drug trafficking is inherently dangerous, it’s risky behaviour,” she said. “It’s not a business where there is a code of conduct and regulations and so there’s often conflict between competing interests, competing drug traffickers [and] there’s debt collection.”
Police say there is still lots of work to be done in the investigation, including exhibits that need to be processed and forensic identification services, but “charges will likely follow shortly.”
“I am proud of the officers involved for their hard work and determination in this investigation,” said VicPD chief Del Manak in a news release. “These offenders pose a threat to the safety and well-being of our communities, so we will continue our efforts to prevent those that choose to engage in illegal drug trafficking, which fuels the toxic drug crisis in B.C.”