REGINA — A two-month-long investigation by the Regina Police Service (RPS) has led to a large bust of firearms and drugs.
On Wednesday, the RPS said they’ve arrested 43-year-old Regina resident Andrew Pittman for possessing $115,000 worth of drugs, including 4.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, approximately 0.5 kg of fentanyl, and 3.82 grams of cocaine, multiple firearms, including two loaded 9mm handguns, a .22 calibre AR semi-automatic rifle, and much more.
“Any kind of guns and drugs that we do get are incredibly valuable because they're now in our hands and they're not going to be harming the public or other police officers,” said RPS Supt. Kelly Trithart at a media scrum on Wednesday.
The arrest occurred on June 18 outside a building complex in the 3200 block of Arens Road, where officers also searched a residence and two vehicles owned by the suspect, finding multiple cases of drugs and firearms.
On the same day, the Saskatoon Police Service also executed a search warrant during which over $30,000 and Assorted paraphernalia were located, leading to the arrest of 32-year-old Chukwunonso Ojukwu from Saskatoon.
Trithart said the direction of the investigation led police to look outside Regina for additional suspects.
“You never really know where they're going to lead us in what direction, whether they're gonna stay local, whether they're gonna go to other cities within the province, which happens a lot in Saskatchewan and any province across Canada.”
Drugs and firearms prevention
As RPS Chief Lorilee Davies recently referenced, firearms have become a common occurrence for the police now compared to decades ago.
“[When I began], there were firearms, maybe once a month, or we had a much lower number of investigations related to firearms that we came across, even in the front line. And now it's reasonable that we're coming across them every day,” said Trithart.
The trouble for police with keeping up with the increased firearm activity is locating different sources,” said Trithart.
“A lot of them are just moving all over the country and coming into the city from other countries and the province. So there's no one particular source or place that we can attribute. It's just basically coming from everywhere.”
As part of monitoring firearm-related incidents, the RPS tracks notable trends.
“Like the type of firearms that are being seized and what the types of offences they're used in, whether they're used in homicides or in robberies or whatever it is,” said Trithart.
“It's important to look at that to try and maybe catch some trends and share with other police services to maybe be able to predict some things.”
As for drugs, Regina has seen multiple overdose alerts in the past few months, with Regina Fire on track for their highest amount of overdose calls in a year.
When large quantities of drugs are seized, Trithart said the RPS monitors overdose numbers to assess the impact of removing those substances from the streets.
Overall, Trithart said the seizures show they’re making progress in preventing drugs and firearms in communities.
“Anytime we have results like this, I believe that's progress.”
Pittman is charged with three counts of possession of a scheduled substance for the purpose of trafficking; possession of the proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000; three counts of careless use of a firearm; five counts of possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition; three counts of possession of a firearm contrary to an order; eight counts of possession of a device knowing its possession is unauthorized; three counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle; and three counts of tampering with the serial number of a firearm.
Pittman made his first appearance on these charges in Regina provincial court on June 19.
Ojukwu is charged with possession of the proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and trafficking in a controlled substance.
He made his court appearance on June 22 at Saskatoon Provincial Court.
As for additional arrests, Trithart said they’ll continue to investigate to see if any more charges will be laid.
