A 22-year-old Esquimalt man is in custody following an investigation for drugs and weapons at a Saanich basement suite.
On Tuesday, the Victoria Police’s Crime Reduction Unit – working in tandem with Saanich Police and the Greater Victory Emergency Response Team – executed a search warrant at a suite in a residence in the 700-block of Rogers Avenue.
Homes surrounding the residence were evacuated “out of an abundance of caution,” said Saanich Police media spokesperson Sgt. Steve Eassie.
“The nature of the file being a weapons and drug-related matter, the potential for someone to be harmed was there in the event that police were to have been met with resistance,” said Eassie. “We obviously didn’t want any bystanders to be placed in harm’s way.
“We were able to make contact with the individual in the suite and were able to have them depart from the residence without any incidence at all.”
Police recovered three handguns, ammunition and evidence “consistent with drug trafficking,” including one kilogram of cocaine and half a kilogram of methamphetamine. The male was arrested on an outstanding warrant and now faces additional charges.
In August 2015, the VicPD CRU and Strike Force sections, and the GVERT, searched the man’s residence in the 2900-block of Quadra Street, where investigators found one kilogram of methamphetamine, half a kilogram of cocaine and “a significant amount of cash.”
“It is concerning to us when people are engaging in this type of criminal behaviour in our communities,” said Sgt. Iain Campbell of VicPD’s Crime Reduction Unit in a statement. “We’re very glad to have these drugs and guns off our streets.”
According to Victoria Police, the approximate street value of a kilogram of cocaine is $50,000, while a kilogram of methamphetamine is worth $25,000.
jacob.zinn@saanichnews.com
