Cocaine seized through Project Kahuna. Photo courtesy Prince Albert Police Service.
Police have revealed that Little Red reserve was one of the five locations subject to search warrants in the Prince Albert area that led officers to seize more than 1,035 grams of cocaine on Sunday.
The Little Red warrant was issued several hours after police undertook a coordinated effort at three locations in Prince Albert and one on an acreage outside the city. Those earlier four warrants were executed simultaneously.
The seizure of cocaine from those locations – along with vehicles, cash, and a 30 grams of marijuana – was the result of five months of investigation by the Combined Forces Street Enforcement Unit (CFSEU).
Officers were tracking a “sophisticated drug distribution network that is alleged to be bringing cocaine from the Edmonton area into the Prince Albert area” for further distribution, CFSEU Officer in Charge Rob Thorarinson said on Tuesday at a news conference in Prince Albert.
Jolie Bird, 37, from Little Red is among the seven people facing 32 charges in this case.
Prince Albert residents Kole Marchant, Alana Primeau, Cody Evans and Paige Klughart-McCormick are also charged, along with Edmonton men Salvin Mudaliar and Yousef Ismaeil.
Thorarinson said it took a lot of policework to build this case, and “the guys are tired.”
Even so, he said they’re not naive enough to think they’ve wiped out cocaine dealing in Prince Albert with this bust.
“We’re not suggesting that we’ve eradicated this issue in the city of Prince Albert and the surrounding areas but this is a significant amount and we’ve made a big, I would say, impact on at least this group and their ability to import and distribute cocaine in the area,” Thorarinson said.
He said police do believe there is a “pecking order” for the accused people in this case, but would not reveal details.
He added that upcoming priority investigations for CFSEU will likely involve fentanyl.