A man arrested in Mission, B.C., in 2022 has been sentenced to 10 years in jail following a lengthy drug trafficking investigation, police announced Tuesday. Mission RCMP said a series of traffic stops and drug seizures in 2021 kicked off an investigation into several people believed to be trafficking drugs in the city, and the evidence gathered resulted in arrests the following year. “On Nov. 5, 2022, crime reduction unit officers stopped a black BMW in Mission and arrested the driver, Richard Samplonius, for two counts of trafficking a controlled substance,” Mounties said, in a release. Mission RCMP said a subsequent search warrant execution at Samplonius’s home led to the seizure of “more than 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl, crack cocaine, packaging materials, and seven firearms, including handguns, shotguns and a fully automatic rifle.” “Investigators also found evidence indicating the residence was being used to supply fentanyl to street-level dealers in Mission,” police said. Mounties said Samplonius, now 45 years old, was convicted of various drug trafficking and firearms offences, and sentenced to 10 years in prison on Sept. 10. The BMW driven during his arrest and more than $7,000 in cash were forfeited through the province’s Civil Forfeiture Office, police added. “We hope that this conviction and jail sentence will serve as a deterrent to those involved in trafficking toxic drugs,” said Insp. Ray Monsef, officer in charge of the detachment, in a statement. Mission RCMP have asked anyone with information about drug trafficking in the area to call the detachment at 604-826-7161.
