ALERT seizes $78K in drugs, arrests and charges pair
By Jeremy Appel on September 8, 2018.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel Two people facing 13 charges and nearly $78,000 worth of drugs are off the streets following an ALERT Medicine Hat investigation. ALERT investigators executed a search warrant Sept. 6 on a storage locker in Brier Industrial Estates. Police discovered methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and buffing agent. Later that day, police arrested two people associated with the locker at a hotel on 13th Avenue. Investigators found more methamphetamine, cocaine and buffing agent, as well as $20,000 cash proceeds of crime. In total, police seized 713 grams of methamphetamine, 247 grams of cocaine and 35 grams of fentanyl powder, as well as some buffing agent to use as filler. ALERT Medicine Hat Staff Sgt. Cory Both says police discovered the location of the drugs and suspects as a result of standard police work. “Once we gather all available information … we start surveillance on people, identify locations that they attend, take other pieces of evidence, paint a big picture,” said Both. “It becomes pretty obvious what these locations are used for, then one thing leads to another, we end up doing a search warrant and end up finding what we found.” Nicholas Belanger, 29, and Devan Koehle, 19, are each charged with five counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of trafficking and one count of possession of proceeds of crime. Belanger is charged with an additional count of possession of a controlled substance. “This seizure is definitely a major victory for our team and for the safety of the Medicine Hat community,” said Both. “But we also know there are more drugs and more dealers out there, and this only motivates the team to continue the work to clean up our streets.” The bust is a result of an investigation that began on August 2018, which is now concluded. “Those charges are substantial,” Both said. “We’re talking big consequences in court. It doesn’t get much worse than that.” 16
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