Three charged after RCMP drug bust in Melfort area

A five-month-long investigation has resulted in charges against three people alleged to be involved in a drug trafficking operation in the Melfort area.

In a media release Thursday, the RCMP said the Prince Albert Crime Reduction Team (CRT) began investigating the operation in May.

“This in-depth investigation continued through the summer and into the fall,” the RCMP release read. “CRT officers used specialized advanced tactics, including surveillance and judicially authorized tracking, to gather evidence.”

Police eventually got search warrants for three residences, a storage unit and three vehicles in the Melfort and Kinistino areas. The searches turned up 178 grams of cocaine, 15 grams of methamphetamine, cash and three non-restricted firearms that were possessed without a licence.

A 39-year-old man from Melfort was charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine and methamphetamine), and one count each of possession of the proceeds of crime and possession of a firearm without a licence.

A 44-year-old man from Melfort and a 24-year-old from Kinistino were each charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine).

“Our CRT officers worked very meticulously over several months on this in-depth investigation, which ultimately resulted in three individuals being charged and a significant amount of cocaine and methamphetamine removed from the streets,” Supt. Glenn Church, officer in charge of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Saskatchewan Enforcement Response Team, said in the release.

“Their investigation determined these illicit drugs were being trafficked to multiple communities, including Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Melfort, Star City, Tisdale, Kinistino and Pleasantdale. All of these communities are safer because of this drug seizure and the dismantlement of this trafficking operation.”