B.C. gang unit seizes guns, drugs on Vancouver Island

Two firearms, two replica handguns, knives, swords and other weapons are among the items seized by a B.C. gang enforcement team on Vancouver Island (Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia)

Victoria — B.C.’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team (UGET) was recently on Vancouver Island to help support local police detachments in Greater Victoria.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia, which directs UGET, deployed the gang enforcement team to the island last week to conduct “high visibility enforcement” in the South Island, especially in areas with increased levels of organized crime.

Over a four-day period, more than 50 people were investigated by the team leading to the seizure of multiple firearms, illicit substances and more than $15,000 in cash.

In total, a shotgun, a .22 caliber MP40 rifle, a .22 caliber pistol, a replica AR15 rifle and replica handgun, multiple knives, a crossbow, swords, machetes, an axe and bear spray were seized by police.

The gang enforcement team also seized “substantial quantities” of methamphetamine, suspected fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, prescription medication and marijuana.

“The work done on targeted offenders by the CFSEU UGET teams when they come to Vancouver Island is always appreciated by the local detachments and communities,” said Cpl. Chris Manseau, spokesperson for the BC RCMP, in a release Wednesday.

“CFSEU works very closely with the local detachments to target those specific offenders with drug, crime, and/or gang ties, and focuses enforcement on them. These most recent results show some of the excellent pro-active work completed by the teams in an effort to disrupt organized crime activity in our communities,” he said.

The UGET team worked with Saanich Police Department and the Nanaimo and West Shore RCMP detachments over the four-day period.

Police say that the local detachments helped brief the provincial teams on local crime hot spots.

Over the four-day period, 33 vehicles and 52 people were stopped and checked, “with the majority of those people connected to the street-level drug trade,” said UGET.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit is based in the Lower Mainland but is sometimes deployed to other areas of B.C. to support local police agencies.