Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2012
Source: Alaska Highway News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Glacier Interactive Media
Contact:  http://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/716
Author: Katelin Dean

'DRUGS AND GUNS GO HAND IN HAND'

"Drug trafficking is an ongoing issue," said Sgt. Steve Perret. "It's 
basically a big problem in Fort St. John 24/7, 365 days a year."

Police busted three young people earlier this month taking drugs and 
weapons off the streets of Fort St. John.

"Unfortunately, these days drugs and guns go hand in hand," he said. 
The weapons seized in this particular incident included a sawed off 
shotgun, a fully automatic firearm and two handguns.

"More often than not, when we seize drugs, especially a significant 
seizure of drugs, we often find these types of weapons as well."

The drug section, along with the serious crime unit and crime 
reduction unit, seized four pounds of cannabis marijuana, almost 200 
prescription and non-prescription pills, $10,000 cash and six 
firearms on July 10 while executing a search warrant in the 8800 
block of 75 Street in Fort St. John.

"It's fortunate that we took these weapons off the street before 
someone got hurt," said Perret. "These people clearly should not have 
had these guns."

Three were arrested - a 19-year-old man, an 18-year-old man and a 
17-year-old woman. Both men were known to police, and all three 
suspects were released on bail.

"For us it's a significant seizure mainly because of the types of 
weapons we're dealing with," said Perret. "Anytime we're dealing with 
handguns or prohibited weapons, such as fully automatic firearms, the 
potential for those weapons to be used to cause somebody bodily harm, 
or even worse, that's always a major concern to us.

"For us it's a major concern that the types of weapons that we 
seized, in the wrong hands, it could cause some significant bodily 
harm or death to somebody."

In a statement, he noted that police are recommending charges of 
possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, 
in addition to "numerous" firearm and weapons-related offences.

Perret said drugs are all too common in this region.

"Because there's a lot of money in Fort St. John, there's a lot of 
economic activity with the oil and gas industry, there's a lot of 
transient workers that come to town solely for the purpose of 
employment and there's a lot of young workers making good money in 
this town," he explained.

"When you have those types of demographics - you have a young 
population with lots of disposable income - there is a market for 
drugs in the community."

He said drugs are an ongoing issue in Fort St. John.

"I don't want it to be public how many seizures we've had because it 
goes in peaks and valleys," said Perret.

"Sometimes there's significant investigative time invested to 
identify and apprehend drug dealers," he continued. "At certain 
points, we have a number of seizures in a short amount of time and 
then there will be a lull while we're actively targeting drug traffickers."

Perret said that police do not want it to become public when they're 
doing "intelligence gathering" or "actually doing enforcement" 
because it could impede investigations.

"Our drug section is continually trying to identify and target known 
drug traffickers in the community," he said.

Perret said police rely heavily on "tips from the public" to aid in 
the identification of new problem areas or new drug traffickers in 
the community.

"I really want to emphasize to the citizens of Fort St. John that if 
they see drug trafficking, or they see any suspicious activity in 
their neighbourhood, to call us," he said.

"You, as a Fort St. John resident, don't have to tolerate people who 
engage in this type of behaviour in your neighbourhood or next door 
to you. Call us. We do take all the tips seriously," said Perret.

He also noted that if someone wants to stay anonymous, the 
information can be reported through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, 
or online at www.crimestoppersfsj.ca.

Perret said, "We do fully investigate every one of those tips and do 
everything in our power to try and apprehend people trafficking drugs 
in Fort St. John."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom