Winiipeg/Abbotsford – In October of 2019, the Winnipeg Police Service Guns and Gangs Unit began an investigation into an inter-provincial drug cell suspected of being responsible for trafficking multi-kilogram shipments of cocaine and cannabis into the City of Winnipeg.
Investigators identified two suspects, one local and one that was regularly travelling through the Winnipeg area transporting illicit drugs.
On March 8, 2020, the two suspects met at a gas bar located in 4100 block of Portage Avenue, with one suspect arriving in a semi tractor-trailer the other in a Jeep Wrangler. Officers observed what they believed to be a drug transaction and arrested both suspects. The exchange officers observed was determined to be 4 kilograms of cocaine. A search of the semi-trailer revealed an additional 15 kilograms of cocaine and 20 pounds of cannabis. Both the semi-trailer and a Jeep Wrangler were seized.
The wholesale value of the 19 kilograms of cocaine is $1,140,000, with a potential street value of $1,520,000. The wholesale value of the cannabis is $60,000 with a potential street value of $90,600.
Jay Marte SANTOS, 42, of Winnipeg, was charged with:
- Possess Cocaine for the Purpose of Trafficking
Balbir Singh NAHAL, 36, of Abbotsford, BC, was charged with:
- Possess Cocaine for the Purpose of Trafficking
- Trafficking in Scheduled Substance – Cocaine
- Possess for the Purpose of Distribution Cannabis
- Possess Proceeds of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
Both accused were detained in custody.
