11 people connected with outlaw motorcycle gangs arrested in $427K drug bust in Prince Albert area: police

Nearly 100 officers from several police agencies were involved in 7-month investigation

A seven-month investigation into illegal drug trafficking in the Prince Albert area has resulted in the arrest of 11 people police say have connections with outlaw motorcycle gangs, and the seizure of a significant amount of cash, drugs and weapons.

Three full-patch members of the FreeWheelers outlaw motorcycle gang, and eight other people, are accused of involvement in illegal trafficking of a significant amount of cocaine and marijuana in Prince Albert and the surrounding area, police said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

A seven-month investigation into drug trafficking by outlaw motorcycle gangs in the Prince Albert area led to the seizure of drugs, cocaine and weapons. (Jason Warick/CBC)

The FreeWheelers group has been operating in Prince Albert since May 2019 and has connections to the Hells Angels chapter out of Saskatoon, police said.

Police said the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit recently searched 13 homes in Prince Albert, the surrounding area and Saskatoon as part of Project NORSE — an investigation which involved nearly 100 officers from the Prince Albert Police Service, the Prince Albert RCMP and other police agencies.

The raids let to the seizure of approximately $224,000 in drugs, nearly $87,000 in cash, six vehicles worth an estimated $116,000, three rifles and a shotgun, police said.

Police said the drugs and drug equipment seized included 596 grams of cocaine, a cocaine press, over nine kilograms of cannabis bud, 33 cannabis plants, and more than two kilograms of individually packaged cannabis byproducts, including butter, resin, hash and vape.

As well, police said marijuana was being grown with a valid Health Canada medical licence and being diverted onto the black market — and a significant amount of the marijuana was being sold at the pound level to buyers in Prince Albert.

In total, the 11 accused — who range in age from 19 to 57 — face 73 Criminal Code charges, most related to trafficking and drug possession.


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