When a Shawnigan Lake RCMP officer took two people who had fled from a traffic stop over a swapped licence plate into custody, it led to the seizure of a stolen gun, thousands in cash and drugs and for police to uncover a significant drug trafficking operation.
On June 14 officers from the West Shore RCMP Drug and Organized Crime Unit and the Crime Reduction Unit were in the Malahat area conducting an investigation when they saw a vehicle travelling north with licence plates that were registered to another vehicle.
When the vehicle stopped in an empty parking lot near Duncan, officers attempted to make a traffic stop, but the vehicle took off at high speed towards the officers, ramming the front of one police vehicle and sideswiping another as it fled the area. Police did not pursue the vehicle at that time.
Soon after, a Shawnigan Lake RCMP officer located the vehicle and two people were taken into custody, Brandon Seguin, 26 of Saanich, and a 38 year old woman, also from Saanich, who has not been named by the RCMP, this time without incident.
A search of the vehicle turned up a Beretta handgun, loaded and previously reported stolen from Nanaimo in August of 2020; $15,000 in cash, more than three ounces of suspected fentanyl and smaller quantities of what is suspected to be cocaine and methamphetamine. There were also numerous collapsible batons and multiple cans of bear spray.
But a further search warrant was to reveal a larger operation and even more evidence.
The West Shore Drug and Organized Crime Unit and the Crime Reduction Unit officers executed a search warrant in Saanich, with assistance from the Saanich Police Street Crime Unit and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team. Police located evidence of a significant drug trafficking operation and seized a large quantity of GHB, gamma hydroxybutyrate. They also located a replica handgun and ammunition.
“This is one example of the ongoing proactive work being done by our officers and the risks they face daily,” said Superintendent Todd Preston, officer in charge of the West Shore RCMP, “Through hard work and team work, we have disrupted a substantial drug trafficking operation and removed multiple weapons from the community.”
Police have recommended charges against Seguin for Possession of Fentanyl for the Purposes of Trafficking, Possession of Methamphetamine for the Purposes of Trafficking, Flight from Peace Officer, Dangerous Operation of a Conveyance, Possession of a Prohibited Firearm and Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm. Police have also recommended charges against the 38-year-old female passenger for Possession of a Scheduled Substance. Both of those charged are known to police, West Shore RCMP say.
