(File photo)

(File photo)

Alleged White Rock trafficking operation believed linked to Lower Mainland organized crime

46-year-old arrested after neighbourhood concerns lead police to ground-floor apartment

  • Aug. 30, 2019 12:00 a.m.

Concerns about suspicious activity around a White Rock apartment led police to arrest two men and detain their 81-year-old mother Thursday evening.

Const. Chantal Sears said the steps, which followed surveillance and execution of a search warrant, “definitely disrupted organized crime in White Rock.”

Police turned their focus to a ground-floor unit in the 1400-block of Fir Street after “numerous complaints this past week” of suspected drug trafficking.

“They were seeing people coming and going from an apartment at all times of the day, making short meets,” Sears said.

The callers also reported seeing “people who looked like drug users” knocking on the unit’s doors and windows, she added.

After conducting surveillance, a search warrant was executed.

“We seized what we believe to be a large quantity of street-level fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine,” Sears said.

She estimated the street value of the suspected drugs – approximately 250 doses – at $5,000.

Sears said further investigation “shows this is linked to a bigger organized-crime section of the Lower Mainland.”

Sears said the seized substances will be sent for analysis, and police are recommending charges of trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking against a 46-year-old in connection with the incident.

Sears said one man arrested Thursday was released from custody with conditions, including a promise to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on Nov. 5. A second man, as well as the 81-year-old who was detained are “not believed to be involved” in the alleged activities, she said.

Abbotsford News