“Operation Derailment” was the first of its kind, targeting street-level drug trafficking in and around Edmonton’s LRT Stations,” says Sgt. Jacob Montgomery of the EPS LRT Beat Team. “EPS and ETS are committed to ensuring the safety and security of Edmonton’s transit ridership, and will continue to suppress drug-related crimes, and the associated violence.”
The Edmonton Police Service LRT Beat Team and ALERT’s Drug Undercover Street Team, in collaboration with ETS, conducted a number of investigations throughout late 2016 into early 2017 with efforts to supress street-level drug trafficking.
Since its recent conclusion, a total of 135 criminal charges were laid – the majority of which were drug trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime charges. In addition, 17 criminal warrants and two Bylaw warrants were executed.
“The majority of the accused had extensive criminal records for crimes such as robbery, break and enter, weapons offenses and violence,” says Sgt. Jacob Montgomery.
Out of the 40 individuals charged, 35 were male and five were female. The average age of the accused was approximately 28 years old – 16 being the youngest and 43 being the oldest.
A total of 17.93 grams of methamphetamine, 1.25 grams of crack cocaine, as well as buprenorphine pills were seized throughout the course of the operation.
The LRT Beat Team program began in July of 2015 and consists of one sergeant and eight constables. The team patrols the LRT and its stations, and the various communities surrounding the stations.