SIX CHILDREN SEIZED FROM DRUG DEN

EDMONTON - Six children were apprehended and a 13-year-old girl was
charged with drug possession after Bonnyville RCMP searched a family
home Tuesday.

RCMP found 37 grams of crack cocaine and about $2,000 cash in the home.

A 68-year-old man and two women, ages 24 and 45, have been charged
with possession for the purpose of trafficking. The women are mothers
of the children whose ages are 17, 15, 13, 13, 11 and the youngest,
who's still in diapers, looked about a year old, said Staff Sgt. Dave Elliott.

Although the amount of cocaine is small when compared to
kilogram-sized loads coming into Edmonton, it's a significant bust in
a town the size of Bonnyville, said Elliott. "In a small town,
getting the dealer can have a big impact."

Bonnyville is 240 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

Getting the children out of the home was especially important, he
added, pointing to the violence that often surrounds people addicted
to and dealing drugs. Also children will breathe the second-hand
smoke when crack cocaine is used, and being around role models who
are users isn't healthy.

"What choices are these children going to make?" Elliott said.

"These kids aren't allowed to be kids."

The children were all apprehended under the Provincial
Drug-Endangered Children Act. They have been taken into provincial custody.