Crime
Four Arrested in Grande Prairie Drug Bust
A short-term investigation by ALERT’s organized crime and gang team in Grande Prairie has resulted in four people being arrested and the seizure of more than $62,000 worth of drugs, along with six firearms and other weapons.
On July 26, 2018, ALERT investigators, with the assistance of Grande Prairie RCMP, concluded the three-week investigation with the execution of a search warrant on a home in the Country Club West subdivision of Grande Prairie. Inside the home, they found drugs, guns and materials used to prepare drugs for sale, including:
- 515 grams of cocaine;
- 212 grams of cannabis resin;
- 53 grams of marijuana;
- a hydraulic press;
- a Taser;
- brass knuckles;
- more than $6,000 cash proceeds of crime; and
- six unsecured firearms, including two semi-automatic pistols, three rifles and a shotgun.
“This investigation was able to make a significant impact in a short period of time,” said Acting Insp. John Wilson, ALERT Regional teams. “Getting dangerous drugs and weapons like these off the streets of communities like Grande Prairie is at the top of our list of priorities.”
Gregory Beamish, 29, is charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (x3), possession of a prohibited weapon (x2), unsafe storage of a firearm (x6), and possession of proceeds of crime (x2). Jennifer Beamish, 34, is charged with possession of a prohibited weapon (x2) and possession of proceeds of crime (x2).
Blandon Willier-Callio, a 27-year-old man, is charged with trafficking a controlled substance (x4), possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (x3), and possession of proceeds of crime (x2). Hunter Miles, a 23-year-old woman, has been charged with trafficking a controlled substance.
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.
Paul Bernardo sits in the back of a police cruiser as he leaves a hearing in St. Catharines, Ont., April 5, 1994. The federal public safety minister says reports of teen killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo being transferred to a medium-security prison are “shocking and incomprehensible.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
The federal public safety minister says reports of teen killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo being transferred to a medium-security prison are “shocking and incomprehensible.”
Citing prison union officials and the lawyer for the victims’ families, multiple media outlets say Bernardo was quietly transferred earlier this week to the medium-security La Macaza Institution, about 190 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
He was initially incarcerated at the Kingston Penitentiary in Ontario and later spent about a decade at the Millhaven Institution, a maximum security prison just outside Kingston.
Bernardo has been serving a life sentence for kidnapping, torturing and killing 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says he expects the Correctional Service of Canada to take a victim-centred and trauma-informed approach in such cases, and that he plans to address the decision process for the reported transfer with the agency’s commissioner.
The Canadian Press has reached out to the Correctional Service of Canada for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.
Calgary police say a father and his son have been arrested and charged after multiple teenage girls were sexually exploited, assaulted and extorted for several months. A Calgary Police Service officer is seen in Calgary on April 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Calgary
Calgary police say a father and his son have been arrested and charged after multiple teenage girls were sexually exploited, assaulted and extorted for several months.
Police say in a statement that they found a 13-year-old girl in April who had previously been reported missing.
They say the girl told police she was in a relationship with a 24-year-old man who gave her alcohol, drugs and vapes in exchange for sex.
Police say the man and his 56-year-old father own Haddon Convenience Store, which is located next door to a liquor store where the assaults allegedly took place.
Police allege the pair was providing drugs and alcohol to multiple other teenage girls, who were also sexually assaulted, from December to May.
They say the girls were unable to consent, because they were not 16.
Police arrested both men Thursday and executed search warrants at a home and the two businesses, where they say officers seized a computer with child pornography.
Sumrit Walia, 24, faces about 20 charges — including sexual interference with a minor, sexual exploitation as well as possessing, accessing and creating child pornography.
His 56-year-old father, Gurpartap Singh Walia, is also charged with sexual assault, sexual interference with a minor and selling contraband tobacco.
“These are incredibly serious charges, where vulnerable youths were being targeted, exploited and forced to enter a dangerous lifestyle,” said Staff Sgt. Darren Smith of the child abuse unit.
“Thankfully, with the support of Alberta Health Services, Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Commission, and the City of Calgary, we have been able to stop the continued exploitation of these young girls.”
The girls, he said, are being supported by Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre. It provides support for children, youth and families who have been affected by severe and complex abuse.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.
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