Posted:
(3 p.m.)
Operations Igloo and Implant Target Drug Dealers
Today HRM Partners in Policing announced the results of Operations Igloo and Implant which targeted mid and street-level drug dealers.
Note: the video and speaking notes refer to us seeking a fifth person in connection with Operation Igloo. That person, a 16-year-old male youth, has been arrested.
------------
Speaking notes from the media conference:
Deputy Chief Bill Moore, Halifax Regional Police
Today we are announcing that HRM Partners in Policing have dealt a significant blow to the mid-level and street-level drug trade in HRM.
Members of the HRP/RCMP Integrated Drug Unit and Guns and Gangs Team as well as officers with the Central Quick Response Unit have arrested and charged 15 people for dealing in illegal drugs as well as prescription drugs. Four people were arrested last month and we are seeking a fifth as part of Operation Igloo which focused on mid-level drug dealers in east-end Dartmouth. This morning, eleven people were arrested as part of Operation Implant which focused on street-level drug dealers in the Gottingen and Uniacke Streets area. A pick up order will be requested for an additional man who is currently incarcerated on an unrelated matter. As a result of both operations, a total of 17 people, 15 men and two women ranging in age from 16 - 65, will face charges.
Over the course of this investigation, undercover officers made a number of purchases of crack-cocaine and hydromorphine. These are highly addictive drugs that can destroy a person’s life. An individual who is addicted on these type of drugs will do whatever they have to do to feed their addiction, including committing crimes to support their habit. Our job as police officers is to prevent these drugs from reaching our streets in the first place which will reduce the number of people going down the wrong path.
The charges we are announcing today are the result of a two-month investigation that specifically targeted street-level and mid-level drug dealers. We know that the drug trade is directly linked to the violence we’ve been seeing in parts of HRM, and we believe taking 17 dealers off the street will have a positive impact on the overall safety of our community. On behalf of both Halifax Regional Police and RCMP, Inspector Daley and I would like to take this opportunity to publically thank everyone involved in bringing this investigation to this point.
Inspector Dennis Daley, RCMP
It is possible to fight back against drugs and violence. That’s really what we’re talking about here today. We want to send a message to those involved in the illegal drug trade that what they are doing is not acceptable to the vast majority of people in HRM. We know this. We hear it from people every day, and that’s why we as police will continually target those individuals whose illegal activity is responsible for the guns and violence negatively impacting our community.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank members of the public for helping us move these types of investigations forward. We are seeing successes, and today is an excellent example of that. We know that by working together, we will continue to make our communities safer for everyone. We are not going to stand by and watch as criminals bring drugs and violence to our communities. As police, we will continue with enforcement actions against those who have little regard for the well-being of their communities or the public safety of their friends, families and neighbours.
Much of the violence we are seeing is the result of competing street-level drug dealers who are using firearms more aggressively and violently then in the past to settle their disputes. The simple reality is that with drugs comes violence. That is why we urge residents to report illicit drug activity to police or to the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Public Safety Investigation Section so steps can be taken to get those responsible off our streets.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Halifax Regional Police are continually addressing these issues but we cannot do it alone. Again, we ask anyone with information to come forward, work with us and help us investigate these crimes. We will continue to target those involved and we will not tolerate the activities of small groups of individuals who knowingly and willingly put public safety at risk.