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Creston marijuana trade connected to gangs, but small-town life not a draw

RCMP intelligence shows large portion of marijuana sales backed by a criminal organization, but small-town life unappealing...
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The Creston RCMP detachment is located on 16th Avenue South.

The Creston marijuana trade has connections to organized gangs but there don’t seem to be any gangsters residing in the area, RCMP Staff Sgt. Bob Gollan said on Monday.

“Our intelligence information indicates that a large portion of the marijuana sales activity is backed by a criminal organization and provincial intelligence says majority is run by Hell’s Angels,” he said. “We haven’t identified any local members. Most of the other drugs come in through Alberta and they don’t seem to be specifically associated with one gang.”

“The small size of the Creston Valley works in our favour,” he added. “We have no night life or fast living, and those are appeals to people who get involved in organized crime. We did have a couple of Independent Soldiers come in from Prince George last year, but they were quickly identified by members of the community. We were able to lay some charges for several offences and they left town.”

Gollan said most of Creston’s criminal drug scene members act independently.

 

Police Beat

Creston RCMP responded to only 52 calls from Sept. 1-7, a likely sign that fall has arrived, Gollan said.

September 1

•A 60-inch flat screen television was stolen in a break and entry to a Devon Street residence.

•A motorcyclist was not injured when he crashed his bike on Highway 3A near Crawford Bay.

•A male from Highway 3A was taken to the hospital for evaluation after calling in with a medical concern.

•Police assisted a family in locating a runaway male child and returning him home to Riverview Road.

September 2

•A report of possible illegal hunting near Canyon-Lister Road was referred to conservation officers.

•A handheld radio with the name Okanagan Aggregates was lost on Canyon Street.

•The owner of a wallet found by a construction worker near Highway 21 reported that he lost the wallet seven years ago.

•A 12th Avenue North resident turned a rifle in for police to destroy.

•A driver of a vehicle pulling a trailer was reported to be driving erratically on Dogwood Street. When he was located, he had not been consuming alcohol and showed no signs of impairment.

September 3

•An intoxicated male behaving aggressively on Northwest Boulevard was gone when police arrived on the scene.

•A bylaw ticket was issued to an Eighth Avenue South resident for playing loud music. He is the source of ongoing complaints from neighbours.

•A female tenant on Highway 3 was warned for disturbing the peace.

September 4

•When Kingsgate border personnel reported a tractor-trailer unit reported stolen in Ontario was entering Canada, an investigation revealed that a male had leased the semi and hired another man to drive it. The lessee did not make any payments, so the semi was considered stolen.

•Police were called to Canyon Street to keep the peace at a residence.

•A theft of road construction signs was reported on Erickson Road.

•A female was reported to have backed into another vehicle in a Northwest Boulevard parking lot, got out to examine the damage, then returned to her car and driven off. The investigation continues.

•No injuries were reported after a motorcycle crashed when the driver took a Highway 3 corner too fast.

•Police assisted provincial ministry personnel with an investigation.

•When the female owner of dogs on Wright Road was approached about letting her dogs run loose, she informed police that she had moved to the country so she could let them run free. She was informed as to the obligations of a pet owner.

September 5

•A male was taken to hospital from Sixth Avenue North.

•When police checked on dogs reported to be barking on Haskins Road they determined the animals were not in distress.

•Keys were stolen from a vehicle parked on Canyon Street.

•A quantity of copper wire was stolen from a Payne Street site.

•When police responded to a report of a female hitchhiker in distress, they located her and she was taken to hospital by ambulance. At the hospital she was determined to be too intoxicated to treat, so she was first taken to police cells and then transported to the psychiatric ward in Cranbrook.

•Police were asked to assist ambulance personnel with an elderly patient.

•A dog was reported to be sitting on Highway 21.

•An intoxicated male reported to be stumbling into traffic on Northwest Boulevard was not located.

September 6

•Three motorcycles reported to be passing dangerously on Highway 3A were not located.

•Police referred a complaint about a bonfire near Canyon-Lister Road to the regional fire department.

•A group of intoxicated males reported to be knocking on a residence door on Eighth Street South were not located.

•Police stopped a vehicle driving with hazard lights flashing on 12th Street, only to find it being driven by a 14-year-old. The father was brought in to help deal with the situation.

September 7

•A wallet and sunglasses were stolen from a vehicle parked on Highway 3A near Boswell.

•Police mediated a landlord-tenant dispute on Hood Road.