50 charges laid in one of Alberta’s biggest drug busts

The RCMP have released a statement in which they give some greater detail into the drug bust that occurred this summer.

“In collaboration with police in Calgary and Airdrie and the RCMP’s federal serious and organized crime unit, investigators carried out search warrants on a vehicle and four homes in Red Deer, Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County on Aug. 8.”

Police seized:

• 1.67 kg cocaine.
• 1.26 kg fentanyl.
• 1.44 kg ketamine.
• 2.61 kg methamphetamine.
• 3.5 kg cannabis.
• 261 g psilocybin (magic mushrooms).
• 22 g heroin.
• 6 litres of hydroxybutyric acid (GHB).
• More than 200 other tablets of various controlled substances (fentanyl, oxycodone, diazepam).
• 9 firearms and ammunition.
• More than $61,000 in Canadian currency.

“This is one the most significant drugs seizures we’ve seen in Red Deer,” said RCMP Insp. Dean LaGrange in a release.

“It also serves as an important reminder to traffickers that there are consequences to trafficking drugs in this province — our members are skilled investigators trained in detection of drug trafficking and you will be caught.”

Steve Tuan Minh Do, 42, of Calgary faces 40 charges, including:

• Possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (x20).
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm (x10).
• Possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition (x10).
• He was released from custody after a judicial hearing and will appear in provincial court on April 3.

Beau Charles Burles, 32, of Edmonton has been charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Hayley Van Dellen, 32, of Edmonton has been charged with:

• Possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (x4).
• Unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon.
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm (x2).
• Burles and Van Dellen were both released from custody and were scheduled to appear in Red Deer provincial court on March 7.

Alberta has had its share of drug related busts in recent history. Just this February a Grand Prairie man was sentenced to eight years in prison for trafficking charges.

Khristopher Ali, 30, was convicted of acquiring fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking in Grande Prairie, and was also charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of proceeds of a crime.

Again, this year, a Southern Alberta drug bust resulted in the arrest of 3 individuals, this time turning out half a kilo of meth, a loaded pistol, and brass knuckles.

A large thank you is due to the hard working men and women at ALERT. Alberta Law Enforcement Teams (ALERT) is made up of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources focused on serious and organized crime. “ALERT includes members of the Calgary Police Service, the Edmonton Police Service, the Lethbridge Police Service, the Medicine Hat Police Service and RCMP officers.”

In each of the cases mentioned above, ALERT played a massive role in identifying potential threats and ensuring that they were arrested. To help get fentanyl off our streets, a horribly deadly substance that has been an attributing factor in the increased narcotic death toll, is always welcome.