Cash, drugs and gun seized
33 charges laid against three men at the Northern Lites Motel
Elaine Anselmi
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, February 4, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Drugs, an illegal handgun and a large amount of cash were seized by RCMP from a room at the Northern Lites Motel on Friday.
Three men face a combined 33 charges in connection to the drug bust that recovered 28 grams of crack cocaine, marijuana, a nine-millimetre handgun, as well as scales and packaging.
"Different types of seizures are significant for different reasons. Sometime because the quantity is great, sometimes because of the number of charges," said RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko.
"The most important part is the impact it's going to make on the community. In this case, we're getting rid of 28 grams of illegal drugs in Yellowknife and getting an illegal weapon off the street, so that is significant."
One of the men, 20-year-old Lazare Sampson, is from Yellowknife, while 23-year-old Fade Dawood and 34-year-old Joshua Rampersaud are from Toronto and Edmonton respectively.
Sturko would not comment on how long the men had been under investigation by the Yellowknife RCMP Crime Reduction Unit.
"This investigation is a part of our long-term commitment and ongoing investment in eliminating the drug trade in all of the communities," said Sturko.
The charges for the three men include: possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking – both cocaine and marijuana, possession of the proceeds of crime, and a number of charges related to the possession of an illegal firearm. Failure to comply with a probation order and court ordered conditions were also among the list of charges.
Sampson, Dawood and Rampersaud appeared in court Tuesday, via video from the North Slave Correctional Centre.
