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Police seize weapons, cash and suspected opioids

Two search warrants in Nanaimo result in five arrests and evidence seized
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Nanaimo Mounties execute search warrants, arrest five and seize cash, weapons and suspected drugs. (Photo submitted)

Nanaimo RCMP members seized weapons, cash and suspected opioids when they carried out two search warrants last week.

According to police, Nanaimo RCMP projects teams, backed up by the Vancouver Island Emergency Response Team, arrested five adults when they carried out two search warrants at a motel in central Nanaimo and a home on Beaver Creek Crescent on May 25.

Among evidence seized were 57 grams of suspected opioids, 85 grams of cocaine, 241 grams of methamphetamine, numerous weapons and more than $24,000 in cash.

The emergency response team was brought in because of the the possibility of weapons being present at both locations.

Two of five people arrested remain in custody while the others have been released on various conditions and are expected to return to court in late June.

Curtis Houle, 32; Michael Byrne, 39; Bailey Martin, 23; Kelsie Boutilier, 18; and Gerald Johnson, 32, have each been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. Johnson has also been charged with possession of a prohibited device (a Taser). Additional weapons seized included a crossbow, numerous knives, batons, replica guns and an Uzi style pellet gun and ammunition.

“Though this seizure is significant, many other illicit drug markets continue to operate in Nanaimo,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, in a press release. “The harm that opioids are causing in our city remains steady and these operations will remain a priority for drug enforcement officers. The seizure of these weapons is also a reminder that the drug trade operates on a premise of violence and intimidation in the community they operate from.”