A call for extra support has paid off for the Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP.
The local detachment called in members of the Lower Mainland-based Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit and its Uniform Gang Enforcement Team to help with a rash of recent incidents, including several shootings, believed to be linked to the drug trade.
“In recent weeks there has been an escalation in violence related to the street-level drug trade in Vernon,” said CFSEU-BC Staff Sgt. Lindsay Houghton. “The Vernon RCMP had requested the assistance of the CFSEU-BC UGET (for additional resources to assist both operationally and with investigations.”
Tuesday afternoon, CFSEU-UGET members arrested a youth believed to be involved in the Vernon conflict for possession of a firearm.
Officers went to a Middleton Mountain residence in the 900 block of Mt. Beaven Court for activity related to the drug trade.
“The officers observed an individual believed to be associated to the current conflict in Vernon getting into the passenger seat of a vehicle,” said Houghton. “The vehicle was stopped before it could leave the premise.”
A pat-down search of the individual yielded a loaded handgun and two bottles of codeine.
The 16-year-old male was arrested and taken into custody for possession of a loaded firearm without having a license.
In the past several months, there have been shootings at homes on Pottery Road, Mission Hill and Coldstream, all believed to be drug-related.
“As a result of the recent shootings that have occurred in Vernon, we’ve reached out to CFSEU to further bolster our detachment’s ongoing efforts in investigating these incidents,” said Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP Supt. Jim McNamara.
“Teaming up with a key partner agency such as the CFSEU-BC is part of our detachment’s ongoing strategy to target individuals and groups involved in this violent activity.
“The arrest of one individual and removal of an illegal firearm from the streets this past week is a positive indicator as to what our investigations will yield.”
