More than 40,000 grams of meth along with other drugs, money, weapons and an SUV, were taken off the streets following a pair of investigations by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) in Calgary.
The two police operations — dubbed “Cairo” and “Crucible” — are said to be responsible for the seizure of close to $3 million worth of drugs.
Operation Cairo was completed during the week of July 20 at two homes in the neighbourhood of Coventry Hills. The northeast homes were searched and police say they seized:
- 2 handguns
- 12,609 grams of methamphetamine
- 1,201 g of fentanyl powder
- 3,000 tablets of fentanyl
- 412 g of cocaine
- $1,025
The ALERT news release said both handguns were loaded, and one of which was equipped with a prohibited over-capacity magazine. Police said the guns will be submitted for forensic testing and ballistic analysis.
Martina Valentini, 37, along with Emily High, 22, and Ricardo Smith, 51, all from Calgary, were arrested and are facing numerous drug and firearms-related charges.
Meanwhile, a week later, Operation Crucible concluded on July 28 with the search of one home in the northwest and another in the southwest. Police who searched the homes in the communities of Thorncliffe and Spruce Cliff say they seized:
- 2 firearms
- 28,355 grams of methamphetamine
- a Nissan SUV
Police said the SUV was outfitted with a hidden hydraulic compartment where one of the handguns was located. The vehicle will be sent to the province’s civil forfeiture office.
Matthew Allen, 33, and Khynnan Ackeral, 18, both of Calgary, were arrested. Police did not indicate what charges were made for the pair.
ALERT said both the meth seizures rank among the largest in the organization’s history. In 2021-22, ALERT teams from across the province combined seized 71.5 kilograms of meth, while seizing 38.2 kg the year prior.
More to come…
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