Two Jasperites are among six people arrested last weekend, on charges related to drug trafficking.
Theodore Vena and Donald Roop were each charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.
The pair, along with four people from Hinton, was arrested as a result of a two-week operation between the Jasper and Hinton RCMP detachments, and the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams. The goal of the operation was to target street-level drug traffickers in the two towns.
Along with the arrests, investigators seized quantities of several different drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, psilocybin and marijuana.
"I'm certainly happy with the results of the investigation," said Cpl. Ryan Gardiner of the Jasper RCMP.
Gardiner said that most of the drugs were confiscated in Hinton, but police did find some cocaine in Jasper. However, he wouldn't comment on exact quantities of drugs seized.
"I can't release too much about the actual police techniques that we used," he said.
Gardiner did say that, while six people were arrested, they don't seem to be part of a larger organization. Rather, they were all individuals arrested as a result of the investigation. In fact, he hesitated to even draw connections between the two men arrested in Jasper.
"As far as I know it was [the two] acting on their own," he said.
Gardiner said it's hard to say exactly what long-term impact the arrests will have on Jasper's drug trade. That being said, the immediate impact will be a positive one.
"As far as Jasper, it's a significant impact.
"In a small town of 4,000 people, any time you can get to cocaine dealers, that's pretty good," he said.
Roop will have his first appearance in Jasper Provincial Court on January 8, 2015; Vena will appear two weeks later, on Jan. 22.
The four people arrested in Hinton were Jason Currie and Annie Meunier (both charged with three weapon offenses and six counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking), Steven Boudreau (charged with trafficking cocaine) and Bryan Brown (charged with trafficking cocaine and possession of property obtained by crime).
Trevor Nichols
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