A Chilliwack drug dealer was sentenced to nearly nine years in jail on Oct. 25, an outcome local Mounties point to as evidence that drug investigations are making a difference.
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| Lucas Benjamin Thiessen |
Lucas Benjamin Thiessen, 23, was sentenced to 8.75 years jail after entering a guilty plea to three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, and two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm.
Also convicted on the same file a month earlier on Sept. 18 was Antonio Dillan Nolasco-Padia, 21, who was sentenced to time served after he pleaded guilty to one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
“This case is a testament to the quality of investigation that was put forth from Upper Fraser Valley Regional District (UFVRD) Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) investigators,” according to Supt. Bryon Massie, Officer in Charge of the UFVRD. “The efforts and diligence of our investigators made a difference with a direct impact to this criminal enterprise and the local drug trade.”
The case goes back to Aug. 18, 2017 when CRU officers witnessed an exchange of illegal drugs between two men. An ensuing police investigation led to search warrants and the two men were charged.
• READ MORE: VIDEO: Chilliwack RCMP confiscate four kilos of coke, cash, firearms and fentanyl
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| Antonio Dillan Nolasco-Padia |
RCMP seized 3.6 kilograms of cocaine, 228.35 grams of heroin/fentanyl, 3.6 kilograms of marijuana, drug trafficking paraphernalia including a cocaine press, two sawed-off shotguns, a revolver, rifle, more than $130,000 cash, and two vehicles.
Nolasco-Padia was initially released from custody but with further investigation was charged. His mother came forward to publicly ask him to turn himself in as he was briefly on the lam.
• READ MORE: Mother asks son to surrender to police
As for Thiessen, he is well-known to police and his troubles are far from over. In 2016, he was arrested following a lengthy investigation by B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. That investigation led to the seizure of eight firearms, prohibited magazines, silencers, and more than $200,000 in cash. Also seized was over $2 million worth of drugs, which included a large quantity of fentanyl.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack man wanted in connection to alleged drug ring turns himself in
Thiessen faces a number of federal charges stemming from that gang investigation into a network allegedly dealing drugs in Northern B.C. Also charged in that file were Jordan Anthony Ramos, Dana Mikael Hendrick Schaper-Kotter, Darcy Horvath and Kyle Harrower.
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