5 PEOPLE FACING CHARGES AFTER $1.6 DRUG BUSTS WITH TIES TO ALBERTA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada: Five people are facing charges in an investigation police say helped dismantle a western Canadian drug line.

The 18-month investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams and the RCMP started in Medicine Hat, Alta., and resulted in police seizing more than $1.6 million in fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.

ALERT said the investigation, dubbed “Project Motor,” began after a series of large drug busts in southeast Alberta in early 2020. Officers were able to trace the drug supply and identify the criminal organization believed to be responsible.



ALERT alleges the drug-trafficking network originated in B.C.’s Lower Mainland and fanned out across Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.



During the course of the investigation, homes were searched in Calgary, Edmonton and Fort St. John, B.C., and resulted in the seizure of the following items:

11 firearms

4,998 grams of fentanyl

9,970 grams of meth

50 grams of cocaine

$82,500 cash



Four people have been charged and a warrant has been issued for a fifth suspect. ALERT said the charges range from drug trafficking to conspiracy to traffic drugs to participating in a criminal organization.