Nine people are facing charges after a large amount of liquor was seized by Turnor Lake RCMP.
Mounties, assisted by members of the local SADD chapter, set up a checkstop near the northern community last Friday.
Police say four vehicles checked carried wine, vodka and over $3,400 worth of beer.
Cpl. Donald Caisse says the communities of Turnor Lake and Birch Narrows Dene Nation are not “dry”, but the large amount of liquor was unusual:
“The going rates here in Turnor Lake for bootlegging are six beers for $20; 26-oz. bottles of liquor go for $60; 40-oz. for $80.”
Caisse says removing the liquor from the re-sale market had an immediate impact on the communities, where they often receive a dozen liquor complaints in one weekend:
“For the 96 hours after the checkstop, we received two calls for service that involved liquor.”
Officials with the Crown prosecutors’ office in Meadow Lake are now deciding how to proceed with charges.