Alberta’s first few fentanyl trafficking charges making their way through provincial courts
Posted Oct 20, 2016 9:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s a first for Alberta and officials are hoping it’ll serve as a deterrent to those looking to live off the proceeds of pushing opioids in the province.
Adrian Cambiazo is among a number of individuals who were sentenced on Thursday to 5 and a half years in prison for trafficking.
It comes after a six year sentence was handed to one of his co-accused Oran Grant Soanes.
According to ALERT, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team, nearly 2,000 fentanyl pills were amongst the half million dollars’ worth of drugs seized last year in an Edmonton bust.
It was one of the first large busts since the opioid burst onto the scene with more than $545,000 in drugs being discovered.
The value of the fentanyl alone was pegged at $147,000.
Officials appear to be encouraged given how traffickers are now beginning to move through the legal system.
“What’s interesting to note is you’re seeing a lot higher sentences than what you would let’s say for cocaine or other drugs that are being trafficked,” said ALERT spokesperson Mike Tucker. “It’s definitely a consideration with just how much damage and destruction these fentanyl pills have caused our communities.”
Tucker says March 2014 was the first time ALERT had seized fentanyl and since that time upwards of 40,000 pills have been seized.
“So much the same way that police really had to adapt quickly to this new trend, I think you’re going to be seeing it in the courts as well, when consideration for sentencing comes down and the judges take into account the severity of the offence and what impact fentanyl has had.”
“We’re hoping when you start seeing these stiffer penalties come out for fentanyl dealers and I know in this case the judge referenced fentanyl as a ‘scourge on society’, we’re hoping that those dealers that continue to push this deadly drug and cause widespread addiction and deaths, maybe the message starts to get in their heads a little bit that there is severe consequences if I can continue to do so.”
“ALERT is not going anywhere, we’re going to continue to prioritize fentanyl and aggressively pursue those who sell it.”
