A crackdown on drug trafficking on Edmonton’s LRT system has resulted in 135 criminal charges against 40 people, the Edmonton Police Service said Thursday.
“Operation Derailment” targeted street-level trafficking in and around LRT stations. It marked the first crackdown of its kind by Edmonton police.
The EPS LRT beat team worked with the undercover drug street team from Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), conducted a number of investigations in late 2016 and early 2017.
In total, 135 charges were laid — mostly for drug trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime — against 35 men and five women.
“The majority of the accused had extensive criminal records for crimes such as robbery, break and enter, weapons offences and violence,” Sgt. Jacob Montgomery said in a news release.
Sgt. Jacob Montgomery said most of the 40 people charged had long criminal records. (Trevor Wilson/CBC)
Police also executed 17 criminal warrants and two bylaw warrants.
The people charged ranged in age from 16 to 43. Police recovered 18 grams of methamphetamine, 1.25 grams of crack cocaine and buprenorphine pills.
Edmonton police and the Edmonton Transit System “are committed to ensuring the safety and security of Edmonton’s transit ridership, and will continue to suppress drug-related crimes, and associated violence,” Montgomery said in the release.