The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have made a significant drug raid in Jasper. On March 25, police officers acting on a search warrant entered a local residence and discovered a quantity of crack cocaine. According to police, the amount seized in the raid has a street value of $15,000. In addition to the illegal substances, Canadian currency and drug trafficking paraphernalia was discovered. 

While the dollar value of the cocaine seized might seem substantial, RCMP Sergeant Dave Maludzinksi said that he did not consider the police discovery to very major.

“I would say that this is maybe just slightly above average,” he said. “It wasn’t a surprise. If it was crystal meth it would have been a surprise.”

Cocaine and crack are available in Jasper, but the community has thus far managed to avoid becoming a major trafficking or production centre for crystal methamphetamine. Nearby police detachments have been dealing with increasing quantities of this drug in their own communities, Maludzinski said, making reference to a recent drug bust in Hinton that led to the RCMP seizing a “huge” amount of crystal meth worth in excess of $30,000.

In the Jasper incident, the police investigation that followed the drug bust has led to four individuals being arrested. Two adults and two young offenders will face charges in Jasper Provincial Court next Thursday (April 13). The alleged offences range from possession for the purpose of trafficking to obstruction. 

The trafficking operation had been in Jasper for some time, Maludzinski said. 

“Obviously they use cell phones to sell the drugs,” he said. “We seized three and interestingly enough there are a lot of local numbers on those phones so they’ve been in business for a little while these guys.”

One particularly troubling aspect of the operation was the use of underage dealers.

“When we entered the residence, it was the two young offenders who were in the house at the time,” said Maludzinski. “They’re setting up young people to sell the drugs in the community.”

This is not an uncommon practice amongst drug traffickers, Maludzinski acknowledged.

“With the young offender, they have to be treated differently than an adult — the punishments are a lot less severe,” he said. 

Maludzinski has little doubt that whatever void was created by the arrests will quickly be filled.

“We arrested the local distributor but not the supplier. Now they’re gone, but others will likely replace them.”

The RCMP were only able to make the arrests thanks to the cooperation of the community.

“It wasn’t just one person — it was a result of several different things happening over a period of a couple of months,” said Maludzinski. 

“Without the help of the community, we would be relatively powerless.”