Thousands of dollars worth of drugs are off Kamloops streets following a drug bust that came together thanks to a Good Samaritan and a mismatched licence plate that caught a Mountie’s eye.
On Tuesday (Feb. 9), an officer with the detachment’s crime-reduction unit noticed the vehicle as it pulled into a parking lot in the 1500-block of River Street and ran the plate, revealing the vehicle was uninsured. The officer then went to arrest the man as he left the vehicle.
According to police, the man resisted arrest, but a civilian nearby came to the officer’s aid, enabling him to get handcuffs on the suspect. The officer then conducted a search, finding a quantity of drugs.
The 19-year-old man from Mission was arrested and later released from custody.
The discovery led Mounties to obtain a search warrant for the nearby Riverland Inn and Suites Motel, executed with the help of the emergency response team.
Const. Crystal Evelyn said the use of the ERT was dye to the “high-risk nature of the drug trade and the potential threat to officer and civilian safety.”
The search took place at about 10:45 p.m. that night and turned up approximately five ounces of suspected cocaine, 3.6 ounces of suspected fentanyl and thousands of dollars in cash, all of which was seized. Police did not say how much money was found.
“Even in the very initial stages of this investigation, police were met with resistance, illustrating how quickly risk can escalate when dealing with those involved in the illegal drug trade,” Staff Sgt. Simon Pillay said.
“Kudos to the civilian who recognized what was going on and came to the officer’s assistance.”
The police investigation is ongoing.
