The Estevan Police Service (EPS) has made several arrests in recent weeks in regards to methamphetamines.
Members of the EPS arrested one individual early on Aug.2, after receiving calls of a man walking in public wearing only pajama bottoms. Police arrested the man with reasonable suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and found a substance believed to be crystal meth.
The previous day Aug. 3 the EPS conducted a traffic stop on a male who was believed to be in possession of a controlled substance according to Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur.
“This particular investigation was an ongoing investigation, that resulted in one male being arrested in relation to possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine,” said Ladouceur.
“In this case, the male was stopped in his vehicle, where the drugs were seized at the time. Further drugs were seized as a result of a search warrant executed at two residences, resulting in an estimated street value of over $3,200 in meth seized from the suspect.”
The EPS also made an arrest on Aug.4 in relation to methamphetamine possession. Police conducted a traffic stop during their night shift and apprehended two people. A 28-year-old passenger was charged with possession of methamphetamine and will appear in court on Sept. 17.
The EPS has seen a marked increase in dangerous drugs like methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine in recent years, but say it is something they are extremely prepared to death with.
“We’ve said it time and time again, if you do choose to traffic drugs in this community you will be caught. I can't be more pointed when I say, if you’re going to deal, you’re going to get caught, it's going to happen…we’re not going to stop, this is just the beginning,” said Ladouceur.
“Since the inception of our Drug Intelligence Unit we’ve been doing a lot of work in the community into the relation of the investigation of drugs including cocaine and meth, and other serious drugs like heroin, and we will continue to do these investigations and make arrests.”
Of equal concern to the increase of drugs in the community, is the increase in crime that those drugs can bring with them, according to the EPS.
Most notably, with increases in drugs like methamphetamine and heroin, the EPS state that an increase in crimes such as home invasions may follow, as drug users seek out cash to fund their habit.
“We’ve seen home invasions, we’ve seen robberies and we’ve seen break and enters, just to try to get more meth, this is not a drug that just solely impacts the user. There is no saying it affects just lower class individuals. This can affect the community as a whole. All it takes is someone trying it one time and they may be hooked,” said Ladouceur.“We’ve seen a lot of peripheral crime that comes along with meth, users often become highly addicted and will go to no end to obtain the drug and that may mean committing other offences like thefts to provide cash to fund the habit.”
According to the EPS, police often see a trickle down effect, with drugs such as methamphetamine and heroin. The drugs are noticed in larger communities before they make their way to smaller communities like Estevan where drug traffickers and dealers may believe they will have an easier time distributing drugs without being arrested.
“We knew this was coming, we knew these drugs would make their way here eventually and we knew we needed to be prepared … we’ve seen it and we’re going to continue to take a harsh stance on it. We want to put a large emphasis on having a reputation that it’s not worth it to deal drugs in this community,” said Ladouceur.
