Illegal designer drugs on rise in Heritage City say Nelson City Police
By Nelson Daily Staff
By Suzy Hamilton, The Nelson Daily
A one week drug sting instigated by Nelson City Police ended with some concerning results.
“We were surprised,” said Nelson City Police Chief Wayne Holland.
“I can’t say that we expected the variety and the amount of drugs we found.
“We were not aware of products such as ketamine or meth… not to the extent we found. We could have bought everyday.”
By the end of the week, 15 Nelson residents were arrested and charged with trafficking. The RCMP and Canadian Border Services may be making more arrests Chief Holland said.
The names of the arrested are being withheld until all of the cases have gone through the system, he added.
Concerned over the past few years that the use of illegal designer drugs has increased in the community, NCP launched a one-week probe to find out how much and what was for sale on the street.
Members of the British Columbia Municipal Undercover Program were brought in.
During the week, undercover officers bought marijuana, cocaine, ketamine, gammahydroxybutyric acid (GHB) a.k.a. the “date rape” drug, ecstasy, morphine, and methamphetamine.
Officers did not find prescription drugs were for sale, said Holland.
“Do we have a problem in Nelson? For the size of the community, absolutely,” said Chief Holland. “Fifteen people in a week with little or no notice.”
He warned parents to be on the lookout for signs that their children are using synthetic drugs. Many of them have serious side effects and often amateurs are the persons making the drugs.
Those individuals often referred to as “cooks” mix various forms of amphetamine (a stimulant drug) or other derivatives with compounds that enhance the effects of their product. Chemicals such as battery acid, drain cleaner, lantern fuel and antifreeze are often used to increase potency and/or increase the amount of product for sale.
“There are a lot of house parties lately,” said Holland. Emergency officials should be called immediately if your child is unconscious, violently ill or having convulsions he said.
Parents should also be aware of marked changes in their child’s behaviour such as withdrawal from the family, sullenness, or if they find hidden extra cash or small envelopes made from glossy magazine paper used to contain drugs.
Holland said that it was not an objective to find the labs making the drugs during this phase of the investigation. “We wanted to find the traffickers.”
“For now we will carry on with the Dare program, school liaison, public education, media advisories and we’ll reactivate our informants,” he said.
