North Lethbridge drug house shut down by SCAN

“It was unbelievable the amount of foot traffic, people were showing up on bikes, and in vehicles,” said Mike Letourneau, Investigator with Investigative Services SCAN Unit Sheriffs Branch. “To give you an idea of volume of traffic throughout SCAN surveillance, we have seen over 70 unknown females and males going into the property, that does not include all the complainant’s observation that they were seeing daily.”

Between October 2019 and February 2021, LPS responded to 33 incidents at the property.

A search warrant in June 2020 turned up a small amount of fentanyl, along with drug paraphernalia and several pieces of stolen identification.

The owner of the property has been living inside the home throughout the investigation.

Letourneau says, following the 90 days, the homeowner will get the property back, but SCAN and LPS will continue to monitor it. Should something continue to occur, LPS will act accordingly.

“The homeowner has either unwilling or unable to control this property, he has essentially lost control of it. Today, is a 90-day closure, he will get the property back, but the property will still be under a court order for a period of one year,” added Letourneau.

The SCAN unit completed its own investigation, where they observed drug transactions. Using that evidence, authorities obtained a community safety order on May 7. The order remains in effect for a year, keeping the property under supervision until May 7, 2022.

Rod Pastoor, Sergeant with the LPS Crime Suppression Team, says they have only laid a few charges so far in relation to the property.

“There have been a few charges, we have done a couple of search warrants at the house, charges haven’t been all that substantial. But it’s frequented by a lot of people and it’s a flophouse for them, where they’re consuming their drugs, committing some of their petty crime in the neighbourhood, it’s basically a nuisance to the block, so it’s nice to have it shut down.”

This is the seventh drug house in Lethbridge to be closed by the SCAN unit since 2019.

In a statement released by Kaycee Madu, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General says, ”This successful operation comes during National Police Week, which is focused this year on how collaboration between police and partner organizations plays a vital role in keeping our communities safe. The combined efforts of the Alberta Sheriffs and the Lethbridge Police Service, in this case, is a great example of how working together can put a stop to criminal activity that endangers law-abiding Albertans.”

Pastoor wants to remind the community that when making a complaint to police, all of your information will remain anonymous.

”The community was so afraid to report to the SCAN unit and LPS, that thankfully all of their information is 100 per cent protected. So, when complainants do call in, it’s important to note that information stays with the investigator and that’s it. That information is never shared with the courts or anyone else, so we are able to establish a bit of confidence for the complainant.”

Since 2008, Alberta’s SCAN unit has investigated more than 5,800 problem properties and issued nearly 100 community safety orders.

by Karsen Marczuk

North Lethbridge drug house shut down by SCAN

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