12 rifles including semi-automatic seized in Clearview Ridge

From The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT)

Large Cache of Guns Seized in Red Deer

More than a dozen firearms, some of which were stolen, have been recovered by ALERT’s Red Deer organized crime and gang team.

On September 11, 2019, ALERT executed a search warrant at a home in the Clearview Ridge subdivision. Red Deer RCMP provided assistance with the short-term investigation that began just weeks earlier.

Once inside the home, investigators seized:

56 grams of cocaine, worth an estimated $5,600;
12 rifles, including one semi-automatic rifle;
two handguns;
a sawed-off shotgun;
a prohibited magazine; and
more than 9,000 rounds of ammunition.

A preliminary check found that four of the weapons were reported stolen after a break-and-enter in Three Hills, Alta., in August. All the firearms seized will be submitted for forensic analysis and ballistic testing to determine if they were used in any criminal activities.

ALERT alleges that the home’s residents were involved in firearms and drug trafficking.

Two people were arrested when the search was carried out. Zane Middlemiss, a 26-year-old man, and Sage Sunderwald, a 21-year-old woman, have been charged with a total of 80 firearm- and drug-related offences.

Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.

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Alberta

Two Million Dollar Drug Bust in Edmonton

Published on November 23, 2021

Todayville Edmonton

News Release from ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team)

Project Elk concludes with eight arrests, millions in drugs and assets seized

A two-year cross-Canada drug trafficking investigation has concluded with eight Edmonton suspects facing charges. ALERT seized roughly $2 million in drugs, cash, and proceeds of crime.

Project Elk was a lengthy investigation into an Edmonton-based drug trafficking network that was involved in drug importation. Eight suspects were arrested and charged in October 2021 with offences ranging from drug and firearms related, to conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, to commission of an offence for a criminal organization.

The suspects are scheduled to make their initial court appearances on November 25, 2021.

“Project Elk will prove to be significant disruption to drug markets in Edmonton and other communities in northern Alberta. The negative impacts of drug trafficking are multi-faceted and connect back to societal harms such as gang-related violence, theft, property crimes, and healthcare implications,” said Inspector Kevin Berge, ALERT Edmonton.

ALERT Edmonton’s organized crime team spearheaded the investigation in November 2019, and Project Elk also involved the assistance of the Edmonton Police Service, and specialized RCMP units from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.

In August 2020, ALERT intercepted a six-kilogram cocaine shipment that originated in Toronto. The seizure precipitated a series of search warrant executions in which six homes in the Edmonton were searched and one home in Strathcona County.

Project Elk resulted in the seizure of:

Five firearms;
10 kilograms of cocaine;
17 kilograms of a cocaine buffing agent;
4.7 kilograms of meth;
2.9 kilograms of cannabis; and
$135,000 cash.

In addition, ALERT seized roughly $200,000 in offence related property, including three vehicles, jewelry, diamond rings, and Rolex watches.

“The drug trade doesn’t pay in the end. If you’re not shot, you’re ending up in jail, and you’re only hurting the people around you. It’s not the glamourous lifestyle that is fictionalized for the sake of TV and movies,” said Berge.

A total of 35 criminal charges have been laid against:

Tyshawn Walters, 29-year-old man from Edmonton;
Kashane Walters, 34-year-old man from Edmonton;
Kariyawasam Kariyawasam, 39-year-old man from Edmonton;
Tyree Malcolm, 28-year-old man from Edmonton;
Levi Collinge, a 39-year-old man from Edmonton;
Boris Derpich, 43-year-old man from Edmonton;
Stacey Sharpe, 35-year-old woman from Edmonton; and
Trevor Bellows, 31-year-old man from Edmonton.

Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.

Alberta

Handguns and drugs seized in million-dollar bust

Published on November 18, 2021

Todayville Edmonton

News Release from ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team)

One million dollars’ worth of drugs was seized, along with multiple firearms, in an ALERT investigation that spread across northern Alberta.

On November 2, 2021 ALERT Edmonton’s organized crime and gang team executed multiple search warrants in effort to disrupt an intraprovincial drug trafficking network. Three homes in Edmonton were searched and targeted vehicle stops were conducted in Red Deer and Whitecourt.

“ALERT’s investigation revealed the Edmonton-based group was aggressive in supplying smaller cells in Grande Prairie and Red Deer. By leveraging our criminal intelligence, and coordinating ALERT’s resources, we were able to undermine their operations by intercepting significant shipments of harmful drugs,” said Inspector Kevin Berge, ALERT Edmonton.

The totality of ALERT’s enforcement efforts netted one million dollars’ worth of drugs, including the seizure of:

Three handguns;
645 rounds of ammunition;
8,578 grams of meth;
1,317 grams of fentanyl;
2,850 milliliters of GHB;
3 grams of cocaine;
57 opioid pills;
17,260 grams of buffing agents;
929 grams of unknown powders; and
$16,255 cash.

All three of the firearms were found with ammunition and not lawfully possessed. One of the firearms was believed to have been 3-D printed and was equipped with a suppression device. ALERT will be submitting the firearms for further analysis and ballistics testing.

Five people were arrested but no charges have been laid at this time.

Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.