Unfortunately, meth and other drug trafficking is a rising problem in Manitoba and Canada overall. Police and Drug Enforcement Agency working hard to identify and arrest those, who involved in drug trafficking organized crime activities. But sometimes a regular traffic stop can lead to a major drug bust.
Last Friday, January 11th police stopped a vehicle on Highway 17 east of Dryden, Ontario after the driver allegedly committed Highway Traffic Act offenses. Eight kilograms of cocaine, worth an approximate street value of $800,000, was seized and the driver arrested.
A 29-year-old Winnipeg man is facing drug charges after being pulled over by Ontario Provincial Police officers.
Seaton George, of Winnipeg, has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, among other drug-related charges.
The last couple of week of 2018 was very busy for police and drug enforcement agency. The holiday season is over and it was a great and happy time, but also, unfortunately, many criminal incidents happened during these past holidays. As the press service of the Winnipeg Police informs, the holidays were not easy for law enforcement officers.
Here is a list of incidents, that happened in the city on holidays - from December 24, 2018, to January 1, 2019:
7599 calls to 911
3412 calls to help desk (not urgent calls)
The largest number of calls was made on December 27 - 1,439 calls, of which 955 were to 911 service. Between December 24 and 31, 173 arrests were made.
- 1 unarmed attack
- 3 attacks with the use of a weapon
- 1 homicide
- 1 attempted murder
- 2 robbery using force
- 2 arsons
- 3 robberies
- 2 fires
- 1 aggravated attack
- 1 attempted rape
- 1 assault on a police officer
- 8 pieces of weapon seized.
In the period of 31 December - On January 1, 51 arrests were made.
- 1 robbery using force
- 2 robberies
- 6 attacks on police officers
- 8 attacks
- Invasion of the house (district Shaughnessy Park)
- Damage to property worth more than $ 10,000 was caused by a drunk man, that threw a table from the 7th floor of a hotel in downtown Winnipeg, then attacked a police officer during his arrest.
- Several calls for help came from the bar of the same hotel. The arriving police were attacked by an armed, drunken and aggressive crowd. More than 20 cadets and police officers were involved in the scuffle. Michael Caribou was arrested for second-degree murder during a fight. The bar was closed by order of the police.
Between January 1-2, 43 arrests were made.
The police are investigating the fact of 15 armed robberies in different parts of the city these days.
Also, even though the marijuana was legalized in Canada last year, on October 17th somehow Illegal marijuana got into legal trade.
Manitoba regulators confiscated all cannabis products provided by the company from Winnipeg, which was sent to licensed retail stores.
The management of Liquor, the Gaming, and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba and the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation state that the sale of all cannabis products produced by Bonify has been suspended due to quality control problems.
Prime Minister Brian Pallister says that he believes illegal cannabis has entered the legal distribution system. He says that the Canadian Ministry of Health was notified more than a week ago, but the provinces were only informed about this on Tuesday, December 18th, and the message came from the company, not from the federal government.
It is really big deal, the authorities are looking into the company business and how it had obtained the right to sell their product, the main concern is that customers should know that what they are buying is approved and licensed.
All of that statistics and police reports show that drugs of any kind are a big and constantly growing problem in Canada. Even though local police, provincial and government agencies put up a fight, work hard, dedicate a lot of manpower and recourses to fight the drug trafficking crime in our country, it is just not enough! Some big changes need to be done on a national level to change this and make our society safe for all of us, especially our children and young teenagers.