A young man is facing a lengthy list of charges following a drug bust that involved raids on several properties in the Edmonton region.
Last October, the Edmonton Police Service said its drug and gang enforcement (EDGE) section began looking into the activities of a suspect from Leduc.
The investigation culminated in search warrants being carried out at a home in that city south of Edmonton, along with two storage facilities in Edmonton and Calmar, as well as a search of two two vehicles belonging to the suspect.
Police seized approximately 15 kg of cocaine, almost 11 kg of MDMA (ecstasy), 270 tabs of LSD, 21 grams of methamphetamine, 863 oxycodone pills, and six kg of a buffing agent called phenacetin.
Phenacetin is a pain-relieving and fever-reducing drug that was widely used for about 100 years, until it was withdrawn from medicinal use in the 1970s for the side effects being too dangerous.
“This was a significant drug seizure, removing kilograms of cocaine and MDMA and smaller quantities of other drugs from our city streets,” said EPS EDGE Staff Sgt. David Paton.
“EDGE Section would like to thank the Leduc RCMP for their assistance with this investigation, as well as our law enforcement partners in British Columbia.”
The street value of the drugs is estimated to be approximately $1.5 million, EPS said.
Police said tools used for drug trafficking, including a hydraulic press, were also seized, along with five firearms, almost $80,000 in cash and a vehicle with a sophisticated hidden compartment.
Jeremy Manuel, 23, from Leduc was charged with 10 counts of drug-trafficking-related offences, two counts of possession of the proceeds of crime and unsafe storage of a firearm.
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