Police recently executed a search warrant at a Coquitlam home — one of three simultaneously conducted across the Lower Mainland as part of a drug trafficking investigation.
What resulted was a massive seizure of drugs, weapons and cash following a months-long operation connected to B.C.'s gang conflict.
Today (May 11), Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP) said four people were arrested last Tuesday (May 2) in the ongoing case, and more is believed to take place.
Homes in Coquitlam, Vancouver and Surrey were the sites of the search warrants.
Police executed its Coquitlam warrant at a residence in Austin Heights near the intersection of Austin Avenue and Marmont Street.
Among the items recovered by police included:
- $70,000 in street-value illicit drugs
- Packaged in a manner consistent with trafficking
- 10 firearms of varying calibre
- Some with illegal modifications
- 3,800 rounds of ammunition
- Around $50,000 in counterfeit Canadian currency
- 2017 Mercedes C300W
- Believed to have been purchased using criminal proceeds
According to MVTP's statement, it's believed the suspects involved were using transit to transport illicit drugs — including psilocybin ("magic mushroom") — into multiple communities as far back as fall 2022.
And with B.C. gang conflict a factor in the case, Chief Dave Jones said the suspects had access to firearms and posed a threat to public safety.
"Working with multiple jurisdictional police partners allows us to investigate criminal activities that cross municipal boundaries," he said, noting MVTP's crime suppression squad teamed up with Surrey RCMP north crime reduction unit, the RCMP Lower Mainland District, Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-BC) and the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).
"Transit Police are committed to public safety and want to send a clear message that if you use the transit system to commit crime, you will be arrested and face criminal charges."
The drug trafficking ring also included a psilocybin grow operation at one of the homes. It was immediately dismantled and all drugs were seized.
