Four charged after largest marijuana seizure in Edmonton Police Service history

CTV Edmonton: Four charged after massive drug bust What's being called the largest marijuana seizure in EPS history has led to four people facing charges.

Edmonton police said investigators have made the largest-ever marijuana seizure in their history from a single investigation, and four people are facing a variety of charges.

Police said on April 11 and 12, investigators executed search warrants at three different Edmonton homes.

On the first day at about 8:30 p.m., investigators searched an apartment in the area of Clareview Station Drive, inside they found a variety of drugs: 70 lbs. of marijuana, 1.6 kgs of mushrooms, one litre of GHB, 1423 oxycodone pills, 855 g of ketamine, and 2068 g of MDMA – with a total estimated street value of more than $322,000.

In addition, police seized about $10,000 in cash.

A man, 29, and a woman, 26, were arrested, and two children, aged seven and eight were removed by members of the Child at Risk Response Team (CARRT).

“Certainly, when we see that it’s extremely alarming to us, especially with the amount of drugs that were there, the type of drugs that were there and the easy access these kids could have had,” Staff Sgt. Carlos Cardoso said Thursday.

The couple is facing seven charges each of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and two counts each of causing a child to be drug endangered, and a charge of causing a child to require protective services.

“For example, we have GHB sitting there that’s odourless, colourless, tasteless, and it looks like water and we know anything over a capful could be fatal to a human, an adult, could you imagine a kid,” Staff Sgt. Cardoso said.

The names of the couple will not be released to protect the identities of the children, EPS said.

The second search warrant was executed at a home in the area of 91 Street and 159 Avenue, where investigators found 2262 g of ketamine, 125 g of mushrooms, 699 g of marijuana, 211 g of marijuana wax, 14.5 g of hash, 1068 oxycodone pills, in addition to a variety of other illegal pills – total street value is believed to be more than $150,000.

Inside, police also found body armour, and $160,000 in cash and a 2013 Toyota Forerunner was seized.

One individual, identified as Felix Aw, 31, he’s facing seventeen counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and illegal possession of body armour.

EPS executed a third search warrant Saturday, April 12 at about 7 p.m., at a home in the area of 219 Street and 95 A Avenue – inside, police found and seized: 370 lbs of marijuana, 1562 g of MDMA, 2890 g hash, 10L GHB and 1098 g of marijuana wax – with a total estimated street value of about $823,600.

Police also seized more than $95,000 in cash, and one man was arrested at the residence without incident.

Robert Jeffery Kuspira, 36, is facing four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Edmonton police said the total street value of the drugs seized as part of the investigation is estimated to be $1.29 million, with total of 440 lbs of marijuana the largest ever seizure of the drug in the history of EPS.

EPS admitted while the seizure is big, it’s not big enough to have an impact on the whole city, but it will affect the cell the accused were involved with.

With files from Nicole Weisberg