By CHAT News Today

VIDEO: Three men charged following two separate drug busts

Feb 22, 2017 | 8:47 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) have arrested three people after a pair of investigations resulted in a shotgun and more than $30,000 worth of drugs and proceeds of crime being seized.

ALERT’s organized crime team in Medicine Hat, along with members of the Medicine Hat Police Service and RCMP, found $17,600 in drugs and cash in a search of a hotel room in the city’s northwest on Feb. 17.

Police seized 86 fentanyl pills, 29 Oxycodone pills, 2.5 litres of GHB, 16 grams of cocaine, 1.5 grams of methamphetamine, one gram of heroin and $5,120 cash proceeds of crime during the search.

Aaron Bodnaruk, a 31-year-old man from Red Deer, is charged with drug trafficking, five counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of proceeds of crime, and five counts of breach of recognizance

Bodnaruk’s breach charges stem from a previous Medicine Hat Police investigation that occurred in December 2016, and drug charges from Blackfalds RCMP in January 2017.

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On Feb. 18, police arrested two people in an apartment building in the city’s northeast, seizing $15,000 worth of drugs and cash, alongside a shotgun with 30 rounds of ammunition.

Police also seized 61 grams of methamphetamine, 68 grams of cocaine, 13 grams of cannabis resin and $1,600 cash proceeds of crime.

Staff Sergeant Cory Both said these seizures are more significant than other busts based on the variety and amounts that were found.

“We generally don’t see one dealer being so diverse in the drugs they sell,” he said. “Usually it’s one particular one or a couple different things, but in this particular case there was quite a number of different controlled substances.”

Taylor Weiss-Linder, 20, is charged with three counts of trafficking, two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance, possession of proceeds of crime, possession of a loaded restricted weapon, unauthorized possession of a firearm, careless storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, and nine counts of breach of recognizance.

Mackenzie Osgood, 19, is charged with drug trafficking. Both Osgood and Weiss-Linder are from Medicine Hat.

In a news release, ALERT stated its investigation was aimed at disrupting street-level dealers operating in the region.

CHAT Television was able to capture visuals of the drugs seized during the investigation. Watch below: