Nanaimo RCMP started out investigating a report of a motorist being threatened with a knife and ended up arresting a suspect for alleged drug trafficking.
According to a press release, the Nanaimo RCMP Bike Patrol Unit responded at about 8 a.m. Friday after a man driving to work slowed to let two individuals cross Franklyn Street near the Wesley Street intersection. One of the pedestrians produced a knife and allegedly threatened the driver.
Officers followed up and found and arrested a suspect who fit the description provided by the victim. A search of the suspect’s belongings turned up a folding knife, $800 in Canadian cash and a quantity of illegal drugs that included about nine grams of fentanyl, nearly eight grams of methamphetamine and one gram of cocaine.
Daniel Purser, of Nanaimo, was held in custody and charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. Purser was not charged in connection with the knife incident. He was released the same day and is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Nanaimo Dec. 2.
As part of his release conditions, Purser is prohibited from visiting the area of Wesley Street, where he had been living for the past several months, but was allowed one police-escorted visit there to retrieve his personal belongings.
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