Driving complaint leads to ‘significant’ drug bust in B.C.

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A public tip about an erratic driver led to a drug bust in Kelowna, B.C. earlier this week.

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The investigation started after West Kelowna RCMP received a report that a driver behind the wheel of a silver Hyundai narrowly missed a child after driving onto the sidewalk near an elementary school.

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RCMP officers later discovered the vehicle parked in front of a business on Highway 97, a major provincial highway.

The driver, known to police, had parked the vehicle illegally and was witnessed by police possessing drug paraphernalia while sitting in the car.

The investigation led to the seizure of what police report is a significant amount of suspected crack cocaine, fentanyl and cannabis.

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The driver was arrested and is now facing a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Between the watchful eyes of the original complainant and the quick response by police officers, thousands of dollars of illegal and dangerous drugs were taken off the streets, Corporal Judith Bertrand said in a news release.

It’s not the first time that police have made a drug bust after a suspect left the wares in plain view.

This past October, a 47-year-old Ontario man was nabbed on several charges, including drug trafficking offences, after being found asleep behind the wheel. Upon locating the vehicle, responding officers spotted the sleeping man, along with large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl and cash.

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Last August, a 20-year-old man in Brantford, Ont. was charged after police found him asleep at the wheel of his vehicle in a parking lot with cannabis in plain view and accessible to the driver. Police also recovered an unidentified quantity of Oxycodone pills and a small amount of suspected crystal methamphetamine from the vehicle.

And in 2020, three men in Madison, Wis. were arrested after parking their vehicles next to each other, one of which was a stolen Jaguar, with drugs, cash and guns in plain sight.

In all, police recovered about 1.5 kilograms of cannabis, US$4,000 ($5,400) in cash, a handgun and a high-capacity gun magazine and bullets.

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