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IQALUIT - Eight individuals have been charged following an undercover operation in Iqaluit that took place in August.

Over a nine-day period, the RCMP's Nunavut drug section worked with the federal enforcement section and Iqaluit detachment to conduct an operation aimed at street- level drug trafficking and the illegal sale of liquor in the city.

While it is not his area of specialization, Cpl. Trevor Allen of the drug division said he is surprised at the number of bootleggers in town.

"Moving here a year-and-a-half ago, I am personally amazed at the amount of bootlegging that's going on in this town and how easy it is to access alcohol in town," he said. "I'm quite concerned. There doesn't seem to be a deterrent. There doesn't seem to be stiff enough penalties here. There's just far too much of it going on."

Five people were charged with offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 1.

One man, 29, was charged with two counts of trafficking marijuana and one count of possession of marijuana, all under 30 grams, and two counts of breach of probation.

A 26-year-old a 29-year-old were charged with one count each of trafficking marijuana under 30 grams, while a 24-year-old was charged with two counts of trafficking marijuana, also under 30 grams.

Another man, 29, was charged with trafficking ecstasy.

Also, three individuals were charged under Nunavut's Liquor Act for illegally selling liquor. They are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 5.

"We brought in some undercover operators posing as drug users and buyers," said Allen. "The initial plan was to infiltrate street level drug trafficking and at the same time, identify and take enforcement action against persons involved in the illegal sale of alcohol in the town."

According to Cpl. Tom Cooke of the RCMP's federal enforcement section, the majority of the calls police receive in Iqaluit and throughout the territory are alcohol-related.

"By taking that amount of liquor out of the community, it will definitely have an effect on the workload of the city detachment and also on the people in the community, too," he said. "Because the booze is not there, you're not having the assaults, you're not having the people being assaulted and all this kind of stuff."