CRT teams already proven their value: Province

SASKTODAY.ca

Expansions to Saskatchewan’s Crime Reduction Teams [CRT] and Warrant Enforcement Suppression Teams [WEST] will build upon the ongoing successes of the past year.

In just the first two months of 2023, WEST and CRT have removed a total of 67 guns, 142 grams of meth, 2,019 grams of cocaine, and three grams of fentanyl from Saskatchewan communities. Additionally, the Saskatchewan

Trafficking Response Team [STRT] seized 38 guns, 21.4 grams of meth, 36 grams of cocaine, and 42 grams of fentanyl while also making 20 human trafficking interventions and laying 20 criminal charges.

According to the DEA, just 42 grams of fentanyl is enough to kill 21,000 people.

“The $3.2 million government is committing annually to expand CRT and WEST represents an investment in the safety of Saskatchewan communities,” said Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell.

“We’ve recently witnessed what just one of these teams can accomplish. Earlier this month the municipal Prince Albert CRT made the biggest drug seizure in that city’s history, removing over 31,200 grams of cocaine from the community as well as guns, ammunition, and the proceeds of crime.”

As announced in the