Two men face more than 20 drug and weapons charges after Alberta RCMP raided homes in Cold Lake and Bonnyville last week.

Cold Lake RCMP and the Alberta RCMP Rural Organized Crime Team executed the search warrants on Sept. 8.

The raids targeted homes in Cold Lake and Bonnyville, with help from multiple RCMP units and police dog services.

The month-long investigation targeted suspected traffickers active in Bonnyville, Cold Lake, Elizabeth Metis Settlement and Cold Lake First Nations. Investigators said the network also reached into parts of Saskatchewan and nearby rural communities.

What police seized

About 650 grams of suspected cocaine
About 60 grams of suspected methamphetamine
About 75 millilitres of GHB
Two loaded handguns
A shotgun
About $39,000 in Canadian currency

Charges laid

Pascal Jacques, 48, of Cold Lake faces 15 charges, including:

Possession for the purpose of trafficking (three counts)
Possession of proceeds of crime
Possession of a prohibited firearm (two counts)
Possession of a firearm obtained by crime
Possession of a prohibited item without a valid licence (two counts)
Possession of a firearm without a valid licence
Possession of a prohibited device (two counts)
Possession of a firearm or prohibited device while on a court order (three counts)

Graham Black, 39, of Bonnyville faces six charges, including five counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The charges have not been tested in court. Both men are presumed innocent unless convicted.

Court dates

Jacques was remanded into custody. He is scheduled to appear in the Alberta Court of Justice in Cold Lake on Sept. 9 at 10 a.m.

Black was released on a release order. He is scheduled to appear in the same court on Oct. 14 at 10 a.m.

S/Sgt. James Morton, Eastern Alberta District acting assistant district officer, called the operation a collaborative effort.

“The Alberta RCMP is uniquely qualified to bring together a variety of support units to work collaboratively to combat organized crime in rural and Indigenous communities,” said Morton.

“Operations such as these are time consuming and resource heavy,” Morton said. “A joint effort is necessary to ensure we can effectively reduce harm in the communities we police, by targeting those that cause the most harm.”

About the Rural Organized Crime Team

The Alberta Rural Organized Crime Team was formed with funding from the Government of Alberta. Its mandate is to target organized crime in the province’s rural and Indigenous communities.

RCMP say the seizure is part of a broader push to disrupt drug trafficking networks moving through northeastern Alberta and into Saskatchewan.