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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK
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THURSDAY
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THIS WEEK
Thursday, July 18, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 57 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
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HAT TIME IN THE SADDLE: John Davies of Victoria used every ounce of energy as he took part in the steer-wrestling competition at the Pritchard Rodeo on Sunday, July 14. Kamloops cowboy Cohord Mason took first place in the event, with Andre Aspell of 150 MIle House finishing second and Jackson Scott of Kamloops nabbing third. Sean Brady photo
2013
EIGHT CHARGED IN COCAINE-RING STING By Tim Petruk STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
Eight men have been charged in connection with a cocaine ring linked to a notorious Lower Mainland gang busted by Kamloops Mounties in October 2012. Drug-trafficking charges have been laid against Christopher Keith Anderson, 22, Tyrell MacDougall, 29, Bradley Charles Edwards, 42, Christopher William Bayers, 24, and Adam John McCaw, 38. In addition, Steven Lloyd Currie, 28, Jean-Claude Auger, 37, and Richard Arthur Crawford, 31, have been charged with counts of commission of an offence for a criminal organization and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. All of the accused are from Kamloops. The offence dates range from April 2012 to October 2012. Investigators believe the trafficking ring was linked to the United Nations gang in the Lower Mainland, but Kamloops RCMP Insp. Jennie Latham stopped short of saying the notorious criminal organization was or is operating
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In October 2012, Kamloops Mounties displayed drugs seized in the investigation. Dave Eagles/KTW
in the Tournament Capital. “They [the accused] are not associated to a specific named organization,” she said. Following an eight-month investigation that wrapped up last October, Mounties seized 1.3 kilograms of cocaine, $142,000 in cash, numerous firearms and ammunition, a cocaine press and three vehicles. Kamloops RCMP Sgt. Gary Senner said all of the firearms were registered. Two rifles have since been returned to “a family member,” he
said, while investigators are working on having a handgun forfeited. The drug ring was a dial-a-dope operation. Senner said there were as many as 1,000 customers. Anderson, MacDougall, Bayers and Currie have no criminal record, while Edwards and McCaw have each been convicted of driving-related criminal offences in the past. Auger has no convictions on his record, but he is slated to stand trial before a jury in B.C. Supreme Court in December on charges of aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm in relation to an incident in January 2011 in Kamloops. Crawford has a lengthy criminal history, but no convictions for drug-related offences. He has been convicted once of impaired driving, three times of driving while prohibited and once, last year, of domestic assault with a weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon following an incident in Savona. Most recently, he was sentenced to 16 days in jail and 18 months of probation on July 2 after pleading guilty to threats and breach charges. Each of the eight accused, none of whom are in custody, are scheduled to make their first appearances in Kamloops provincial court on July 22.