Three UN gang associates facing drug charges

Three Fraser Valley residents with alleged ties to the United Nations gang are facing drug trafficking charges after a sting by the Abbotsford Police Department's Gang Suppression Unit.

Officers from the force, along with members of the APD Drug Enforcement Unit and the Municipal Integrated Emergency Response Team, executed a warrant at an apartment in the 33900-block of Essendene Avenue after gathering intelligence there could be a significant amount of drugs inside the unit.

Police seized cocaine, heroin and Percocet tablets estimated to be worth $26,000 from the residence around 5:20 p.m.

A 35-year-old man connected to the apartment is facing a charge of possession for the purposes of trafficking, as are another 21-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman.

The 35-year-old faces an additional and unrelated charge of impaired driving and refusing to provide a sample.

Const. Ian MacDonald told ctvbc.ca the eldest suspect is associated with one of the department's primary targets in the notorious UN gang, whom he calls the "puppet master" of the alleged drug dealing in the apartment.

"We believe the other two are his friends and associates," he said.

"When we received info about his gang member we found one of his drug lines operating predominantly with the assistance of the suspect."

The newly-formed Abbotsford Police Gang Suppression Unit made its first arrest May 1 after searching a home on Old Yale Road and removing a loaded 40-calibre semi-automatic hand gun, ammunition, two bulletproof vests, cash and Oxycontin.

Thirty-five-year-old Lance Wust, a 35-year-old with an extensive history with police in several jurisdictions, faces multiple drugs and weapons charges in connection with the case.

MacDonald says the gang unit, whose mandate is cataloguing gangsters and suppressing gang violence, anticipates more arrests soon.

"I think it will send a strong message to the UN gang member," he said. "We're going to take down anybody in his way."