Residents evicted from suspected Whitehorse drug den

A suspected drug denin Whitehorse has been shut down.

Thehouse is on Hanna Crescentin the McIntyre subdivision.

Acommunity safety order on the property,issued last week by the Yukon Supreme Court,took effect at midnight on May 11.It is only the second such order to be posted in Whitehorseand thefirst on Yukon First Nations land.

The shutdown of 23AHannaCrescent follows years of complaints made to policeand the Kwanlin DnFirst Nationwhich owns the house.

"The sense that I get, our citizens are relieved this is happening," says Kwanlin Dn Chief Doris Bill."This issue has been the number one concern of our citizens."

A petition made byYukon's Director of Public Safety & Investigations under the Department of Justice describes a history of trafficking and drug use at the house.

The petition mentions cocaine, Oxycodone, ecstasy and morphine as well as a steady stream of people coming and going at all hours.

Under the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Actthe property was put under surveillance between December 2014 and April 2015.

The Kwanlin DnFirst Nation hassupported attempts to shut down the house and says it isco-operating with the SCAN office.

"I think it's just another step in dealing with a larger problem," says chief Bill. "Our citizens have spoken loud and clear that they want a safer community."

The property is twoblocks from an elementary schooland four blocks from a daycare.

It will be fenced off for 90 days before thekeys go back to the Kwanlin DnFirst Nation.

Chief Bill says the evicted tenant nowhas other accommodations.

A community safety order is just one tool available under SCAN legislation. The last one was issued in 2012for a house in Porter Creek. SCAN legislationhas also been used to evict tenants from other residences, afterrepeated accusations of drug use and illegal activity.

The Yukon government's Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit says itinvestigated 55 complaints in 2014 about illegal activities such as drug traffickingand bootlegging.