Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Oct 04/04) - Hay River recorded its largest-ever seizure of crack cocaine on Sept. 26.

Police raided a room at the Ptarmigan Inn and seized 193 grams of crack cocaine, with an estimated street value of more than $46,000. In addition, police seized more than $45,000 in cash.

The money is believed to be proceeds from drug sales. Police will seek to have it forfeited to the Crown.

Police say they believe the room has been used as a base for selling the crack for about two weeks.

RCMP Sgt. Greg Downing says two 17-year-old males from the Vancouver area have been charged with possession for the purposes of trafficking. Their names cannot be released.

The amount of crack cocaine involved is a considerable amount for a small town like Hay River, Downing said, adding the seizure should have an impact on the local supply.

"We hope it was the first of more seizures to come," he adds.

Downing says information from Hay River residents helped police obtain a search warrant.

However, the sergeant says the bust was also the result of an in-depth investigation.

"We were aware of these people."