MASSIVE DRUG BUST

Police in Central Alberta are rounding up 43 drug pushers across the
region following one of the largest busts in years.

The massive seven-week investigation -- led by the Red Deer city RCMP
Street Team and the Red Deer Subdivision Drug Section -- will result
in more than 150 drug and Criminal Code charges being laid.

Mounties seized $90,000 worth of drugs, including 794 grams of cocaine
and crack cocaine, 130 grams of methamphetamine, 956 grams of
marijuana, 125 grams of psilocybin (magic mushrooms), as well as
quantities of MS Contin ("poor man's heroin") and Valium.

As well, police officers seized $3,000 cash, and a large assortment of
illegal weapons, including two handguns, two shotguns, one AR-15
assault rifle, explosives, knives, swords and four vehicles.

"They like their toys," said RCMP Cpl. Rick Goldstein, of the Red Deer
Subdivision Drug Section. "They can be quite lethal weapons."

Goldstein said the bust will have an impact on the immediate drug
trade across Central Alberta.

"Once this hits the media traffickers are going to be very reluctant
to sell to anyone they don't know," said Goldstein.

"It's going to be very difficult for a user to come into Red Deer and
purchase off anybody because they are going to think it is an
undercover operator."

The drug operation -- named Project Kottage -- was completed last
Saturday when police arrested nine people and executed search warrants
on four Red Deer residences and one each in Lacombe and Sundre.

"We targeted street level to mid-level traffickers in and around the
City of Red Deer and Central Alberta," said Red Deer city RCMP Cpl.
Steve Cormack, head of the detachment's Street Team.

"We were quite successful in not only achieving our goals as far as
some of the people we had in mind for prosecution but also uncovering
other people we weren't even aware of at the beginning of the
investigation."

Following last weekend's bust, Mounties in and around the City of Red
Deer were executing warrants this week to nab the other suspects
uncovered in the investigation, which involved up to 25 police
officers and included assistance from the Lacombe Police Service and
the RCMP detachments of Olds, Didsbury, Sundre and Three Hills.

Although Mounties were clearly pleased with the success and scale of
the bust they cautioned their war on illegal drugs in the region is
far from over.

"I think the fact that some people involved in this are going to jail
will put a small dent in the drug trade but to say that we have
cleaned anything up is naive, I think," said Cormack."