Submitted by G.D. Simpson
January 29
Clearwater RCMP received a call from a 21-year-old male from McLure at 6:27 p.m. to report a suspicious person on Highway 5, just south of Little Fort, B.C.
The complainant advised that he heard his dogs barking, looked out the window and saw someone wearing a high-visability vest with no shirt on walking along the highway. He said he was concerned as there had been recent break and enters happening in the area.
Cst. Lockwood attended with Cst. Wallbank from Barriere, B.C., and located a 33-year-old Barriere male walking south on the highway. This male stated that he was wanting to go back to Barriere and didn’t want to hang out in Little Fort anymore.
Cst. Wallbank offered the male a ride back to Barriere which he accepted. Prior to getting into the police vehicle, the male was searched for weapons which he had agreed to. Cst. Lockwood located a personal-sized amount of Methamphetamine which was seized. Cst. Wallbank transported the male to Barriere.
January 30
Cst. Lockwood, along with other RCMP officers, were conducting a road check on Highway 5 and Highway 24 in Little Fort, at around 10:45 p.m.
Cst. Lockwood observed a grey 2019 Dodge Ram, a Hertz Rental vehicle, approach the road check northbound with one South Asian male driver in the vehicle. The driver identified as a 30-year-old Edmonton, Alta., man. A police system check showed many recent entries for trafficking contraband.
The driver provided an expired rental agreement (Jan. 5 to Jan. 12) and was unable to account for the remaining 18 days. The driver stated that he travelled to Vancouver, B.C., to visit his elderly grandfather and had been there for 10 days.
Cst. Lockwood was also aware that the driver was an occupant of a fatal collision in the Clearwater area previously, which remains under investigation. The totality of the situation led Cst. Lockwood to believe that the driver was in possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and was arrested, chartered and warned for this offence.
The driver was on the phone with his lawyer the entire time which also raised suspicion. The rental vehicle was searched and Cst. Lockwood located four cell phones, a small baggy of fentanyl, and eight Percocet pills. As per the rental agreement, the vehicle was rented at 52,283 kms to time of arrest at 58,337 kms, which is a difference of 6,054 kms that the rental vehicle had accumulated since the initial rental date.
The driver was in possession of another male’s passport whom he claimed had left it at his residence. This male also has multiple trafficking convictions and appears to be entrenched in the drug culture as per police queries. The Percocet pills and fentanyl were seized. Investigation is ongoing.
Clearwater RCMP responded to 25 calls this past week.
Sgt. G.D. Simpson is the detachment commander at the Clearwater RCMP detachment.
Anyone with information on a crime is ecnouraged to call Clearwater RCMP at 250-674-2237 or to report anonymously, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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