Combined forces gang unit seizes drugs, knives in Okanagan operation | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Combined forces gang unit seizes drugs, knives in Okanagan operation

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The province's organized crime squad was deployed to the Okanagan last month, and the team seized weapons and drugs over a six-day period.

During the week of March 21, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C.'s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team worked in partnership with the Kelowna RCMP over six days to receive up-to-date intelligence to help direct their enforcement, according to a CFSEU-BC media release.

Kelowna RCMP briefed the team on local crime hot spots in order to contribute to overall local law enforcement efforts and improve public safety.

Twenty-one vehicles were stopped during the Okanagan operations, and they checked 27 people, the majority of them connected to the street-level drug trade.

"During their time in the Okanagan, members seized three Airsoft guns, multiple knives and a baton. Also seized were quantities of suspected cocaine, crystal meth, heroin and potentially deadly fentanyl," media spokesperson for the Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit, Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said in the release.

The gang unit spends most of its time in the Lower Mainland, but regularly travel to other communities around the province to support local police, both proactively and reactively.

"(The uniform gang unit) represents the overt, tactical and specialized uniform presence of Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit, which will directly interact with individuals involved in organized criminal activity to help our agency deliver on our mandate," Sgt. Winpenny said.


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