RCMP’s ‘Project Falter’ drug investigation nabs two more suspects

Two more people have been arrested as part of the RCMP’s “Project Falter.”

According to the Mounties, the Battlefords Gang Task Force on Monday arrested a 29-year-old North Battleford man and a 22-year-old woman from North Battleford and charged them with trafficking cocaine. The woman also was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

They’re to appear in North Battleford Provincial Court on May 29.

The charges arose after a six-month-long investigation into a drug trafficking network operating in Battleford and North Battleford. In a media release in February, the RCMP said the drugs were coming into the communities from Edmonton for distribution through a phone-based delivery service.

On Feb. 2, police stopped two vehicles and staged raids on homes in the Battlefords and Edmonton areas. Officers seized nearly eight kilograms of suspected cocaine, more than 5,000 pre-rolled cannabis joints, 898 cartons of contraband cigarettes, 281 grams of Xanax tablets, more than 10 kilograms of a “cutting agent” which is used to dilute drugs and increase profits, four illegally owned handguns, and a large sum of cash.

More than 25 charges were laid against six people as a result of the investigation, police said at the time.