Seven people who have been involved in a total of 1,100 police incidents have so far been arrested as part of a drug sting in the old downtown core of Abbotsford.
Const. Ian MacDonald said the Abbotsford Police Department’s bike squad began the sting in December following increased concerns about drug trafficking along McCallum Road, particularly in the 2300 to 2500 block.
MacDonald said the McCallum Road and McDougall Avenue area of the city recorded a 75 per cent increase in calls to police from 2013 to 2014.
He said many of those calls were related to complaints such as assaults, noise, drug use and exchanges, and people stepping out into traffic.
“That intersection has been street-disorder-and-mayhem central,” MacDonald said.
He said it’s difficult to pinpoint the reason for the increased crime in the area and whether it’s because drug dealers went to where there was a market or buyers went to where there were dealers.
MacDonald said the drug sting used uniformed patrols, surveillance and undercover elements.
The seven people arrested have been charged with 26 offences, including for the trafficking of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
The three women and four men range in age from 34 to 46, and all have extensive criminal histories, MacDonald said.
He said the individuals have been the subjects of 1,100 calls in total to various police agencies since 2006.
Five of those facing charges are eligible for mandatory minimum sentences of one year in custody due to prior trafficking convictions, MacDonald added.
He said none of them live in the specific area in question, and among the conditions of their releases is that they not return to that part of the city.
He said the investigation is expected to result in further arrests and charges.
The Abbotsford Police Department conducted a similar sting in 2013, arresting and charging 10 people.
