BROOKLYN, N.S. — A large shipment of illegal drugs, including marijuana, magic mushrooms and LSD was stopped before reaching its intended destination in Nova Scotia this week.
Windsor District RCMP, working with investigators in the Integrated Criminal Investigation Division, discovered the drugs hidden under tarps on an 18-wheeler.
Darrell Gaudet, staff sergeant in charge of the integrated drug unit said the truck was under surveillance before the seizure.
The truck was stopped at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 Gaudet said.
“Through an ongoing investigation we determined there was a large shipment of drugs coming into the Halifax area,” Gaudet said. “We had surveillance on the 18-wheeler, although the 18-wheeler then decided to pull off the main highway onto highway 14 and we decided to stop it in the Brooklyn area, in an area we determined safe for such a large vehicle.”
Gaudet said he couldn’t say where the drugs were headed following the truck’s detour into Brooklyn due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
The driver and lone occupant of the transport truck, David Joseph MacDonald has been charged with four counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance.
The 39-year-old from Frasers Mills, Antigonish County, appeared in Kentville court on Oct. 1 and was released on conditions.
MacDonald is scheduled to appear in Kentville provincial court on Oct. 27.
“It’s a large amount of drugs, we’re not going to say it’s not,” Gaudent said. “It’s definitely going to make a dent in the illegal drugs (market) in the province.
“We’re not naïve to say we’re going to stop it, but we’re going to put a dent in it.”
Gaudet says the most disturbing thing about the shipment was the large quantity of LSD.
“Recently in the Halifax area, we’ve had incidents of synthetic drugs that have caused people who are using them to have bad reactions,” he said. “They’ve been hospitalized and some synthetic drugs in North America have actually killed people. With these synthetic drugs, made by organized crime, you don’t know what’s in them.”
Gaudet said the type of drugs on the truck were diverse and known to the Nova Scotia drug scene.
“Synthetic drugs in Halifax have caused some issues, which is why we moved on this,” he said. “We’ve taken over 19,000 tablets off the street, that’s going to make an impact and we may have saved a life in the interim.”
Gaudet said he couldn’t give a monetary value on the seizure, because it could differ depending on where you are in the province.
“We’ve taken a large sum of money out of the pockets of organized crime, which is going to have a positive impact on our community,” he said.
A team of plain-clothed police officers helped with the investigation.
The investigation is ongoing.
BROOKLYN, N.S. — A large shipment of illegal drugs, including marijuana, magic mushrooms and LSD was stopped before reaching its intended destination in Nova Scotia this week.
Windsor District RCMP, working with investigators in the Integrated Criminal Investigation Division, discovered the drugs hidden under tarps on an 18-wheeler.
Darrell Gaudet, staff sergeant in charge of the integrated drug unit said the truck was under surveillance before the seizure.
The truck was stopped at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 Gaudet said.
“Through an ongoing investigation we determined there was a large shipment of drugs coming into the Halifax area,” Gaudet said. “We had surveillance on the 18-wheeler, although the 18-wheeler then decided to pull off the main highway onto highway 14 and we decided to stop it in the Brooklyn area, in an area we determined safe for such a large vehicle.”
Gaudet said he couldn’t say where the drugs were headed following the truck’s detour into Brooklyn due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
The driver and lone occupant of the transport truck, David Joseph MacDonald has been charged with four counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance.
The 39-year-old from Frasers Mills, Antigonish County, appeared in Kentville court on Oct. 1 and was released on conditions.
MacDonald is scheduled to appear in Kentville provincial court on Oct. 27.
“It’s a large amount of drugs, we’re not going to say it’s not,” Gaudent said. “It’s definitely going to make a dent in the illegal drugs (market) in the province.
“We’re not naïve to say we’re going to stop it, but we’re going to put a dent in it.”
Gaudet says the most disturbing thing about the shipment was the large quantity of LSD.
“Recently in the Halifax area, we’ve had incidents of synthetic drugs that have caused people who are using them to have bad reactions,” he said. “They’ve been hospitalized and some synthetic drugs in North America have actually killed people. With these synthetic drugs, made by organized crime, you don’t know what’s in them.”
Gaudet said the type of drugs on the truck were diverse and known to the Nova Scotia drug scene.
“Synthetic drugs in Halifax have caused some issues, which is why we moved on this,” he said. “We’ve taken over 19,000 tablets off the street, that’s going to make an impact and we may have saved a life in the interim.”
Gaudet said he couldn’t give a monetary value on the seizure, because it could differ depending on where you are in the province.
“We’ve taken a large sum of money out of the pockets of organized crime, which is going to have a positive impact on our community,” he said.
A team of plain-clothed police officers helped with the investigation.
The investigation is ongoing.
