Police seize 63 kg of methamphetamine in largest Winnipeg meth bust ever

Two men from Alberta have been arrested after 63 kilograms of methamphetamine and smaller amounts of three other drugs were seized at an apartment in southwest Winnipeg last week, police say.

The methamphetamine bust is the single largestseizure of the drug the Winnipeg Police Service has ever made,Insp. Elton Hall said at a Thursday news conference.

"It's alarming that there's this much methamphetamine on the table in front of me. Hopefullywe don't see this trend continue," Hall said.

"But there is a lot of methamphetamine, not only on the streets in Winnipeg, but across Canada right now."

Policefound the drugs during a search on Oct. 12 at an apartment suiteat 835 Sterling Lyon Parkway, which Hall said was rented out but not to either of the men arrested.

In addition to the 63 kilogramsof methamphetamine, which police estimate is worth $6.3 million, police seized 3.4 ounces of fentanyl (which police estimate is worth$15,000), 6.6 ounces of cocaine (estimated value$13,000) and two litres of GHB(estimated value $4,000) sometimes called liquid ecstasy and known as a "date rape drug."

Hall said he found it "a little bizarre" to see GHB among the drugs seized during the bust, but the substance is also used by bodybuilders who use enhancements like steroids.

Police also found between $60,000 and $75,000 in Canadian currency during the search, which the tactical support team helped with, Hall said.

While methamphetamine often originates in Mexico, the colour of the drugs seized which had a brown tinge raised questions about where they came from, he said.

"If it was perfectly clear and it was well-made, I would probably tell you, 'Look, I'm pretty confident it's made in Mexico,'" Hall said.

"But this could be made in Canada or the United States right now. So I don't have an exact answer, but it's one of the three areas."

Largest Winnipeg meth bust ever

2 years ago

Duration 2:08

Two men from Alberta have been arrested after 63 kilograms of methamphetamine and smaller amounts of three other drugs were seized at an apartment in southwest Winnipeg last week, police say.

Hesaid the bust represents the kind of larger focus the police force's guns and gangs unit is moving toward, instead of what he called marginalized policing, "where you're arresting somebody who has a small amount of drugs on them, and then they're released three hours later, and we're in here doing paperwork for the next, you know, 10 or 12 hours."

"Those arrests are inefficient they don't work," Hallsaid.

Police are trying to focus more on mid-level drug traffickers like the menarrested earlier this month, he said.

"It's these individuals who enter the city, who don't even live here, causing a lot of mayhem and chaos for people in need. They're taking advantage of vulnerable people in the city who rely on these drugs and they're making a huge profit on it."

Dennis Bobko, 35, and Bryan Arnold, 47, were arrested and detained in custody.

Police believe they are part of a larger organized crime network that spans several provinces, and the drugs were driven into Manitoba.

Both men have been charged with four counts of possession of a scheduled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime over $5,000.

More arrests are possible, Hall said.

Bust 'a great thing' for community: Bear Clan

Kevin Walker, interim executive director of Bear Clan Patrol, says the seizure by Winnipeg police will have a positive impact.

"I think it's a great thing for the community," he said. "Some dynamics we have in the North End right now is drug use, so if they can get some drugs off the street it'll definitely help the community out."

Walker says Bear Clan is picking up about 200 to 600 needles on the nights they patrol. So far this year, they've collected about 15,000 needles off the street, he said.

He says when he started walking with Bear Clan, he saw more cocaine on the streets.

"Then it moved into the meth and now from meth, it's gone into the fentanyl," said Walker.

He said any type of drug entering the province poses a problem and that drug use is expanding to other parts of Winnipeg that might surprise people.

"Drugs don't have any kind of prejudice they can be used anywhere in the city," said Walker.

"Large quantities that come into Manitoba like this, they should be seized get them off the street," he said.

Anyone with information about the trafficking or selling of methamphetamine or fentanyl is asked to call police at 204-986-6222 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at204-786-8477.

People who need help with addictions can call the Manitoba Addictions Helpline at1-855-662-6605, Hall said.