A year-long investigation into an organized drug trafficking network has arrested ten people.
In late March of 2022, RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) Saskatchewan and the Regina Police Service launched an inter-provincial drug trafficking investigation, targeting a prolific drug network supplying large amounts of illicit drugs across Western Canada.
After over a year of investigating, on May 11 and 12, the RCMP FSOC Saskatchewan executed six search warrants in Weyburn, Moose Jaw, Vancouver and Burnaby, B.C. and arrested the individuals involved in the investigation. Ten individuals were arrested without incident, and 54 Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act charges have been laid.
Officers seized 3.36 kilograms of MDMA, 8.95 kilograms of cocaine and 28.17 kilograms of methamphetamine.
The following individuals have been charged and arrested:
- 27-year-old Nikola Galic from Burnaby
- 26-year-old Cassandra Beckett-Benjamin from Toronto (arrested in Burnaby)
- 41-year-old Zlatko Mandaric from Burnaby
- 28-year-old Sasa Bilusic from Moose Jaw
- 22-year-old Braylen Breton from Moose Jaw
- 41-year-old Jamie Neufeld (female) from Weyburn
- 36-year-old Courtney Austin from Moose Jaw
- 40-year-old Mitch Schoffer from Moose Jaw
- Two individuals were released without charges laid.
Galic will appear in Regina Provincial Court next on June 6. All others will appear in Regina Provincial Court next on June 19.
A total of 12 different police agencies directly participated in the investigation, with another five providing support.
Inspector Andrew Farquhar, Officer in Charge of RCMP FSOC in Saskatchewan, said the investigation shows that illicit drugs are an issue in all areas of the province.
“This investigation has demonstrated the presence of illicit drugs in small towns and rural areas – it is not strictly a big city issue. When we look at the impact of drug trafficking in our communities, there is violence and property crime. We know the abuse of drugs fuels deadly addictions which ruin the lives of Canadians every day – this is evident in the information we have released about fatal overdoses in our rural Saskatchewan communities,” he said. “Our goal is to prevent illicit drugs from entering our communities in the first place.”
Superintendent Trent Stevely, in charge of the Investigative Services Division at the Regina Police Service, said over 40 kilograms of illicit drugs would never make it to the province’s streets.
“Bringing this investigation to a successful conclusion has not only disrupted criminal activity at multiple levels but has also created a significant hole in the pockets of local, national and international crime groups,” he said. “This seizure by police means these illicit drugs will never be on our streets in Saskatchewan, victimizing our communities.”
The investigation is ongoing.
