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SANIKILUAQ - Two more arrests at Sanikiluaq Airport on Aug. 29 brings the total number of people from the community who have been arrested for bringing drugs from Winnipeg to six in just over a month.

To outsiders, it may seem the drug trade is flourishing in the hamlet of more than 700 residents, but RCMP Cpl. Paul Robinson said he believes the diligence and efforts of police are being recognized by Sanikiluaq residents, who are tipping them off to potential drug runners with more frequency.

"I think that because the community sees that we have a dedication to minimizing or decreasing the amount of drugs coming in, the more they have faith in us and the more they are coming forward in providing information," said Robinson.

"A lot of people have been caught lately. Unfortunately, the people caught are now used as an example and, hopefully, it will be used as a deterrent for people to do it in the future," he continued.

He added there was probably still a lot of stuff getting past them.

"People are bringing - knowingly or unknowingly - drugs back. Sometimes we catch wind of it and sometimes we don't," he said. "Unfortunately, we're probably only getting a small portion of it and that's the disturbing part about it."

Sanikiluaq is a dry community, where residents are prohibited from possessing drugs or alcohol.

Robinson said Sanikiluaq residents are being contacted in Winnipeg and offered money or drugs to bring prohibited substances into the community.

"For a small amount of money, people are willing to take the chance to smuggle drugs from Winnipeg to here," he said.

He said the sums they are paid are sometimes in the area of $100 or a small amount of drugs.

Kivalliq Air began operating three scheduled flights a week into Sanikiluaq from Winnipeg on April 1.

"It's not a new flight," said Robinson, explaining that flights had previously been operated on a charter basis. "There have always been Kivalliq Air flights and there have always been problems with drugs and alcohol."

John McFee, Kivalliq Air manager, said when the company offered the Sanikiluaq-Winnipeg charter they were able to hand-search passenger bags because the Government of Nunavut, who paid for the service, asked them to.

"At the request of the charter customer, which was the GN, we were able to search passengers bags at their request," he said.

But when the scheduled flights began, Kivalliq Air had to respect privacy legislation and could no longer search bags for illegal substances.

The airline still performs searches for dangerous goods or items that would pose a threat to the safety of the aircraft.

"If we do find drugs or alcohol, we have a policy where we will not allow the passenger to bring the items into the community," said McFee.

The Hamlet of Sanikiluaq recently sent a letter to Kivalliq Air asking the company to screen bags and passengers coming in from Winnipeg for contraband.

McFee received the letter and said he wants to work with the community, but reiterated Kivalliq Air is unable to perform searches for drugs.

"We are kind of hamstrung, in terms of privacy legislation and the kinds of things we can search for," he said. "We would welcome the RCMP, or any agency that would like to search passenger bags for illegal substances."

Robinson said the RCMP cannot perform random searches.

Police act on tips they receive and even once those are provided, information such as past drug trafficking history or evidence an individual received a large sum of cash has to be gathered to warrant an arrest.

All of the seizures made at Sanikiluaq Airport in the last month were from people travelling for medical reasons, either as a patient or an escort, according to Robinson.

Ainsley Bishop, manager of the Kivalliq Inuit Centre in Winnipeg where most Nunavummiut stay when on medical travel in the city, said she has not noticed any increase in drug use or possession at the centre.

"If we have a reason to suspect (a person) may be carrying drugs, because they are intoxicated, we will ask them if we can go through parts of their room," she said.

She added guests usually refuse.

The hamlet's mayor and councillors could not be reached for comment.