The West Shore RCMP street crime unit nabbed at 27-year-old Langford man last Friday for running a significantly large dial-a-dope operation.
The street crime unit had the man under surveillance based on a Crime Stoppers tip, and pulled over his car in View Royal at 1 p.m. after witnessing a drug transaction. Officers found baggies of heroin, crack and powdered cocaine in the vehicle, ready for distribution. RCMP seized the 2006 Subaru Legacy.
“The more different substances you have, the more customers you will have,” said West Shore RCMP Sgt. Max Fossum.
Around 10 p.m. after gaining a search warrant to the man’s home on Bellamy Road in Langford, RCMP found large numbers of baggies of heroin and crack and powdered cocaine. They also found a large amount of cash.
“This would be a busy dial-a-dope operation. This is a big bust for the West Shore,” Fossum said. As of Tuesday, investigators have yet to catalogue or fingerprint all of the seized drugs.
But police estimate they seized 20 grams of cocaine and about four grams of heroin in about 40 baggies from the Bellamy home. Drugs were divided into 0.2, 0.4, 0.5 and one gram packages. Fossum said this is a much larger operation than a “street level doper.”
“If you look at each baggy, each one would be a delivery,” Fossum said. “Dial-a-dope is basically like a pizza delivery.”
Two bags of marijuana were also found in the home. “The marijuana was probably just personal,” remarked Const. Olen Bernardo, of the street crime unit.
The RCMP also found a baton at the home, but no other weapons.
“This is the same baton I have,” Fossum said explaining that the weapon could be purchased from stores in Vancouver. “It’s very common to find guns and weapons (at busts like this).”
Fossum said the suspect doesn't have a criminal record and was unknown to police until the Crime Stoppers tip.
Charges of drug trafficking haven’t yet been sworn against 27-year-old, and his name hasn’t been released. He has been released from custody on a number of conditions.
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com