Edmonton police revealed Monday they charged several people in the city earlier this year in connection with a national online drug trafficking ring. Police said in a media release they charged five people in Edmonton in February with 133 criminal offences, including those related to organized crime, trafficking, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime. The charges stem from an investigation between March 2024 and January 2025 into an online group operating as BlueBuddhaCo, police said. Investigators learned the organization operated nationally and shipped about 8,700 drug packages across Canada while laundering the proceeds through banking and cryptocurrency platforms. Police said the investigation involved other agencies, including the RCMP and Ottawa police. “The complexity of this operation demanded a sustained, intelligence-led investigation involving extensive financial analysis, digital evidence and interagency collaboration,” Staff Sgt. Jennifer McCann of the Edmonton Police Service’s Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit said in a statement. Search warrants executed in January 2025 revealed several storage and distribution locations, including in central Edmonton and the Hollick-Kenyon and Schonsee neighbourhoods, police said. Police seized $224,000 worth of drugs and estimate the group received about $1.98 million through e-transfer deposits.
