Those accused in a drug bust in the North Shuswap have been sentenced.
In December 2012, Chase and Salmon Arm RCMP as well as the South East District General Investigative Section conducted Project E-Poise, an investigation which led to a series of drug and firearm search warrants in the North Shuswap on Eva Road and ‘Heroin Hill’ in Scotch Creek, as well as in Chase.
To date, Robert Theodore (Buster) Ehlert, 72, was convicted of two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and received a suspended sentence, reports Sgt. Gary Heebner of Chase RCMP.
Richard John Maki, 42, was convicted of one count of trafficking in a controlled substance and received a 90-day jail sentence, to be served on weekends.
Ernest Harvey Klassen, 61, was convicted on numerous counts under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and received three concurrent jail sentences for eight months, as well as a mandatory firearms prohibition for 10 years.
A fourth man, Waylon Faulhafer, is awaiting trial on charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, as well as firearms offences under the Criminal Code.
Immediately following the Project E-Poise investigation, a separate search warrant was conducted on a residence on ‘Heroin Hill” in Scotch Creek relating to firearms offences.
A number of firearms were seized and, in the public interest, an application to prevent the return of the firearms to the owner has been forwarded to Crown counsel, continues Heebner.
