Vancouver man charged in cross-border fentanyl smuggling scheme
A Vancouver man is facing a list of drug charges for allegedly smuggling fentanyl in the mail from B.C. to the United States.
In February, officers with the Combined Forces Enforcement Unit of B.C. and the Canada Border Services Agency began investigating a man they suspected to be importing illegal firearms into Canada.
That month, police searched a property in Vancouver and say they seized an illegal firearm and approximately 600 grams of fentanyl.
Police also found evidence the deadly opioid was getting packaged and shipped to the U.S.
'When our officers did this search warrant, they found one shipment had not gone out yet, and they also found the evidence that there may be other shipments that may have been shipped out by the same person,' said RCMP Cpl. Sarbjit K. Sangha.
Investigators contacted U.S. Customs and Border Protection and learned that they intercepted four shipments of fentanyl originating from Vancouver containing a total of about 1,500 grams of fentanyl.
The packages were shipped by Canada Post, the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and Purolator.
'They were investigating this, but they did not have a suspect identified,' said Sangha. 'That's how we worked together, put the pieces together, and got the charges on this individual.'
On May 20, the federal prosecution service charged Jordan Tanner Dakota Treleaven, 32, with seven counts of drug-related charges, including unlawful export of fentanyl, methamphetamine, possession for the purposes of trafficking and possession of a prohibited firearm.
Treleaven was arrested in Alberta on May 22 and remains in custody.
Police said the initial investigation into the illegal importation of firearms continues and involves a different suspect.
'This investigation led to the disruption and charges against an individual involved in a cross-border fentanyl trafficking operation,' said Assistant Commissioner Manny Mann of CFSEU. 'Fentanyl continues to cause significant harm to our communities and we are committed to targeting those responsible while working with our partners to reduce its devastating impact.'
Stephen Maloney, executive director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the co-ordinated information-sharing between Canadian and American agencies 'are a great example of how we disrupt cross-border criminal activities when we work together.'
chchan@postmedia.com
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