Earlier this month the Street Crimes Unit of the St. Thomas Police Service executed a drug bust which yielded $60,000 worth of drugs and cash along with multiple guns destined for the streets of St. Thomas. Typically the unit will spends months gathering information and evidence before executing a search warrant. So what is the role of the five-person unit and how does the team operate? myFM spoke at length with members of the unit to get a better insight into the darker side of St. Thomas not visible to most residents.
So far this year, the Street Crimes Unit of the St. Thomas Police Service has executed seven search warrants and seized close to $80,000 in illicit drugs along with stolen property, cash and firearms. To date, 137 charges have been laid. Typically, months can be spent on an investigation.
The Street Crimes Unit is assisted in their investigations through tips and complaints from city residents and information relayed to the unit by front-line officers in the police service.
Information that is drug-related is then forwarded to the Street Crimes Unit and it is dealt with as a team effort.
That information is often shared with other police services in the province. The Street Crimes Unit in St. Thomas is a member of the Criminal Investigation Service of Ontario and the results of larger cases can be passed along at scheduled meetings of that organization.
As to when to initiate a drug bust, that depends on a number of factors and it is not a matter of scheduling it a week in advance.
In the undertaking of a drug raid, there is always the danger officers will come face-to-face with an individual or group of people who are armed. This possibility is discussed in briefings held before police take any action.
For the five members of the Street Crimes Unit, at the end of the day it is all about keeping the community safe. Moreso when the unit is able to take another drug dealer off the street.
In September of 2018, the Street Crimes Unit completed Project Coppertone, a seven-month investigation into illicit drugs being trafficked in the city. Fourteen arrests were made for drug trafficking-related offences totalling 56 charges. A total of $474,000 worth of illicit drugs were seized along with $24,000 in cash, a firearm and $25,000 in stolen property.
It remains as the largest drug bust undertaken by the St. Thomas Police Service.
