Police road stops nab trio in the South Okanagan for drug-related charges
By Nelson Daily Staff
Three men face possible drug charges after police seized drugs, cash, weapons and offence-related property during two traffic enforcement stops over the weekend in the South Okanagan.
In the first incident, RCMP Dog “Jet” helped officers arrest a 57-year-old Calgary man for a drug-related offence.
The arrest happened Saturday (October 4) at 6:30 p.m., when a member of the South Okanagan Traffic Services stopped a black Jeep TJ for a traffic violation on Highway 3 in Osoyoos.
The officer noted an odour of marihuana and arrested the driver for drug possession.
Police Service Dog “Jet” helped search the vehicle and alerted investigators to a speaker box amongst various musical instruments and equipment inside the Jeep.
Several vacuum-sealed packages of marihuana were located within the speaker.
In all, police seized about five pounds of marihuana, a large dagger that was found within reach of the driver, a machete, and a significant quantity of cash.
The 2008 Jeep TJ was also seized as offence-related property.
The Alberta man faces potential charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and possession of proceeds of crime.
He was released for Court at a later date.
Sunday (October 5), at 2:55 p.m., members of the South Okanagan Traffic Services and Osoyoos RCMP were conducting a road check on Highway in Osoyoos when they checked a westbound rental moving truck and a Dodge pickup towing a trailer.
Both trucks entered the road check from the same direction a short distance apart and investigators noted a strong odour of marihuana coming from the cargo areas of both the moving truck and the trailer.
The two drivers were arrested and their respective vehicles searched.
Police located and seized a total of 97 mature marihuana plants from the cargo area of the moving truck while an additional 115 plants were seized from the trailer.
A shotgun was also seized along with matching 2-way radios from each vehicle.
The rental truck and trailer were both impounded for retrieval by the company while the non-rental vehicle, a 2004 Dodge pickup truck, was seized as offence-related property.
A 71-year-old Surrey man and a 46-year-old Langley man both face possible charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Both men were released for Court at a later date.
