A sophisticated Calgary drug trafficking network was crippled after police seized a variety of drugs with a street value of more than $1.2 million and arrested eight Calgarians in a 10-month investigation.
"We think we've dealt a significant blow to this organization," Insp. Gerry Francois, with ALERT's Calgary Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, told reporters Monday.
"This will have an impact on their activities, for certain."
The unit launched an investigation after receiving information about the group, which was believed to be distributing across Western Canada.
Between September 2012 and July 4, officers executed search warrants at six residences across the city, the most recent one at a home in the McKenzie Towne area.
Police seized about eight kilograms of cocaine and crack cocaine, 640 grams of methamphetamines, 2,800 Oxycodone tablets, 247 grams of marijuana, more than eight litres of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), 904 grams of MDMA or ecstasy, 45 ecstasy tablets and 795 vials of steroids.
The drugs are have a total street value of more than $1.2 million, Francois said, adding police are still trying to determine where the drugs are from.
The quantity of GHB — more commonly known as the date rape drug — is among the largest Francois said he has ever seen, adding the drug is also used in conjunction with steroids.
Officers also seized about 34,000 prescription pills, more than 35 kilograms of a cutting agent, $96,311 in cash, eight vehicles, a pill press, cocaine press, a conducted energy device, 33 cellphones and other trafficking paraphernalia.
Francois compared the wide variety of drugs trafficked to a "grocery store," with offerings for different customers.
"We've seen that there's a trend in these organizations to becoming involved in trafficking a variety of drugs so they have a larger customer base and, of course, the profits increase," he said. "It's one-stop shopping."
Some of those arrested have gang affiliations and criminal pasts.
Seth Micah Westergard, 32, Christopher Lloyd Greene, 31, Joshua Patrick Feagan, 27, Jessica Catherine Marshall, 28, Kamila Ravshanovna Baikova, 22, Jesse Carl Baker, 29, Melissa Sue Shenfield, 28, and Ashley Aaron Cuthbert Mawdsley, 31, face multiple charges.
Francois said Feagan and Mawdsley, along with a 33-year-old man who was not charged, were on parole at the time of the arrests and have had their parole revoked.
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