Sask. police target drug traffickers; lay hundreds of charges

The RCMP and Regina Police Service (RPS) joined forces these past three months in a massive operation to target drug traffickers.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) for Saskatchewan specifically investigated those who come in from out of province to sell drugs, most of the time bringing weapons with them.

“We set out to target the proliferation of drug trafficking in and around Regina, along with the weapons and shootings that so often go along with the illegal drug trade,” explained RCMP Inspector Rob Thorarinson, who is the officer in charge of the unit.

As a result 60 arrests were made and 443 charges laid ranging from trafficking in controlled substances to possession of stolen property to multiple weapons offences.

Many of those arrested were from outside of the province.

“A lot of these individuals arm themselves so a focused attention on drug activity in the city also rebounds into them having weapons and removing those weapons keeps the city safer,”  RPS Inspector Darch Koch said.

Throughout the course of the investigation, police seized 1700 grams of cocaine, 600 grams of methamphetamine, 200 grams of marijuana along with small amounts of ecstasy and cocaine.

Over $40,000 worth of stolen property was seized, 11 firearms, five sawed off long guns and six hand guns.

The CFSEU works out of Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert.