Two Calgary men facing 40 charges following drug and weapons seizure
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Two men are facing 40 criminal charges of possessing illicit drugs and unlawful firearms as part of a CPS investigation into drug trafficking.
The investigation began in April after CPS’s Crime Operations Unit received information about the two men and alleged illegal activities.
Police on Thursday seized five handguns, one rifle, one shotgun, 664 grams of fentanyl, 928 grams of methamphetamine, drug production equipment and paraphernalia, and $24,000.
Police also executed search warrants on four residences in the 2300 block of 5th Street S.W., 100 block of 23rd Avenue S.W., 300 block of 24th Avenue S.W., and 700 block of 77th Street S.W.
Four vehicles, including a black Acura ILX, a green Porsche Panamera, a white Range Rover HLE and a white Infinity FX50 were also seized by police.
Abel Dawit Teshoma, 32, of Calgary, is charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of drug trafficking and one count of possession of the proceeds of crime. Teshoma was released on bail and will appear in court on Monday.
Leslie Babajid Cole, 32, of Calgary, is charged with 31 firearms-related offences, and one count each of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime.
Cole, who has been charged with multiple weapons and stolen property offences in relation to drug-related shootings, was released on bail and will next appear in court on Monday.
CPS said investigators with Organized Crime and Offender Management Section work with Crown prosecutors to provide evidence to the court on an offender’s risk to public safety.
“In this case, despite our co-ordinated efforts and the position of the Crown prosecutor, Cole was released on bail by the Alberta Court of Justice,” the CPS said in a statement.
“Anyone who is known to be unlawfully carrying firearms in our communities is a significant risk to public safety and we are targeting these individuals through investigations and enforcement,” Insp. Jodi Gach of the Organized Crime and Offender Management Section said in a statement.
“However, our efforts are only as good as our ability to keep these offenders in custody. In cases like this, where offenders are released on bail shortly after being charged, it takes additional resources from across the service to manage that offender in community.”
Mount Royal University criminology professor Doug King said the decision to grant bail to repeat offenders was the result of a reform in 2019 by the federal government that has required peace and judicial officers to default to releasing people on bail at the earliest opportunity with the least onerous conditions.
The reform, which meant to address the over-representation of Indigenous people and other minority groups in prisons and remand centres, has had the unintended consequence of endangering residents by letting repeat, often violent offenders into the community.
Another reform designed to address the issue by making it harder for those who have repeatedly committed offences using weapons, including firearms, knives and bear spray, to receive bail is now awaiting approval in the Canadian Senate.
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