The nearly two-year investigation resulted in charges for five men from the Kamloops area after coordinating with the New Westminster Police Department.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops RCMP
February 02, 2022 - 3:29 PM
Five men are facing drug and firearm charges in Kamloops as a nearly two-year police investigation comes to a close.
The Kamloops RCMP targeted enforcement unit spurred the investigation in April 2020 starting with street level dealing, which led them to suspects involved in transporting their product into the city.
Multiple search warrants were executed at homes in both Kamloops and New Westminster as the Kamloops RCMP coordinated with New Westminster Police Department to track suspects, according to a news release.
"By investigating suspects engaged in street level drug dealing of smaller amounts, (the targeted enforcement unit) was able to follow their trail and identify those responsible for transporting large quantities of controlled substances into the community," Sgt. Todd Woon of Kamloops RCMP said in the release.
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In July 2020 police searched a home on the 600-block of Comox Avenue in Kamloops, where they found cocaine, fentanyl and a located prohibited firearm.
As part of the same investigation, a man from Cherry Creek was arrested near Kamloops the next month with more than a kilogram of cocaine in his possession, police said. This arrest was part of a joint effort with New West Minster police as RCMP traced a suspected trafficker back to the Lower Mainland city.
Police believed the suspect to be responsible for supplying illicit drugs into Kamloops, according to the release.
In September 2020, a Kamloops man was arrested as he returned to New Westminster, where two kilograms of cocaine were seized from his vehicle, police said.
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Varying amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl were seized as at least three homes in Kamloops and the surrounding area were searched by police since July 2020.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops RCMP
In a later search of his property on the 1300-block of Kinross Place in the Aberdeen neighbourhood, police seized two kilograms of methamphetamine and one kilogram of cocaine.
Police searched another property in Tobiano on the 100-block of Holloway Drive where "smaller quantities" of controlled substances were found.
"The impact of stopping those drugs from ever hitting the streets of Kamloops is immeasurable," Woon said. "Interrupting the supply chains into Kamloops helps prevent organized crime from developing a strong presence and increasing violence in the community."
In that same month, New Westminster police continued to investigate a suspected supplier and a search warrant resulted in the seizure of 13 kg of cocaine, 10 kg of methamphetamine, two handguns and roughly $300,000.
Lawrence Lloyd Pooli, 31; David Jeffrey Tremblay, 36; Rylee Laureen Bains, 24; Jason Ray Sauka, 50; and Roberto Silio Lupi, 36, are each facing various charges for drug trafficking.
Pooli, Tremblay and Bains are also facing firearms related charges.
Three men are facing firearm-related charges as a result of the investigation led by Kamloops RCMP targetted enforcement unit.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops RCMP
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