Left to right are: Insp. Craig Mushka, Dep. Chief Farica Prince and Chief Patrick Nogier of the PA Police. In addition to the table with five long guns and three kilos of cocaine, an identical table of seized cannabis was shown. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Illegal drugs in the big picture

Recent P.A. bust part of growing trend of large drug seizures connected to other provinces

Mar 6, 2025 | 11:11 AM

A recent seizure of a large amount of cannabis, cocaine and fentanyl near Prince Albert is evidence of the changing nature of the illicit drug activity in the city, according to Chief of Police Patrick Nogier.

The large seizures and guns are connected to organized crime in other provinces, which means smaller police forces are looking at how connected their policing is to other jurisdictions.

“We need to be aware of the fact that we have drug problems that are going inter-provincially – so east, west and north, south. When we look at this investigation in particular and the way these items were packaged, we’ve already connected them to other seizures that were associated to the greater Toronto area in 2024 in December and then more recently in the Northwest Territories a couple months ago,” Nogier said.

Growing cannabis at home is not illegal in Saskatchewan but it is limited to four plants. The grow op near Prince Albert had over 100 plants. Nogier did not speculate where the illegally grown cannabis would be sold as it has been legal to buy in Canada for eight years.

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The cocaine packages had distinctive labelling, which is how officers made the connection to Toronto and NWT.

PA Police seized cocaine and 9 kilos of cannabis near Prince Albert last week. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

2024 saw a five per cent reduction in crime overall in Prince Albert but gun seizures remained high and armed robberies and carjackings are a recurring issue.

“We’re starting to actually realize that we are on the map when we’re tracing crime guns and these are these are high-capacity guns that are coming off of the streets of Toronto and making their way into Prince Albert,” Nogier said.

Last year, local police seized 130 guns as part of their work and in 2023, it was 160 guns. Many have been sawed off, which is illegal, had their serial numbers scratched off or are handguns, which are highly restricted. Some are homemade ‘zip guns’ but those are relatively rare.

“These are crime guns, and a lot of these crime guns are coming from south of the border,” Nogier said.

Saskatchewan has the highest rates of gun-related violence in Canada.

READ MORE: Four calls, four guns seized by PA Police

Police seized over three kilograms of cocaine, nine kilos of cannabis, five grams of MDMA, 75 grams of psilocybin (magic mushrooms), cash, ammunition and five long guns in the most recent bust a week ago.

The cannabis was found in a rural house that had been set up with pipes, heat and electricity to allow a large-scale growing operation and had been there for some time.

In 2023, Prince Albert Police arrested multiple people and seized 31 kilograms of cocaine and over $50,000 in cash from a mobile home on the north side of the city.

A log book entered into evidence at the trial of one of the dealers showed a distribution of $175,000 to smaller traffickers. The cocaine seized was between 90 and 95 per cent pure so the dealers were using five-gallon pails and phenacetin to cut it down to about 50 per cent.

Not all the accused people in that case have been tried yet but one man was sentenced to seven years in jail after pleading guilty.

Nogier said that P.A. Police recognize that addictions and crime are connected to other social problems and what impacts one, impacts the others.

“Although our frontline officers on a day-to-day basis are dealing with those complex societal issues, homelessness, transient people, instigators, disturbances, the things that don’t actually require these types of investigations, there is a correlation and association between the two of them,” he said.

“This will have a compounding effect, a positive effect. Taking these guns, taking these drugs off our streets will help in solving the issues that are associated to homelessness and poverty.”

Prince Albert has been working on finalizing its own approach to homelessness with the city council soon facing a decision on where to locate a permanent emergency shelter.

Nogier said that Saskatchewan police are spending more time talking to counterparts in Alberta and Manitoba. While they know the source of the weapons and the drugs are mainly not in Canada, they are focused on the internal movement of trafficked items.

But it is not the first and likely won’t be the last such large-scale seizure, so police need to adapt to a changed trafficking network

While methamphetamine remains a popular choice, the presence of cocaine has taken over. Prince Albert Police seized almost 3,500 grams of cocaine in 2024 and found 1,585 grams of meth and 66.6 grams of fentanyl in the same time frame.

Prince Albert has the highest cocaine and meth load in its wastewater in Canada, something city hall asked to have tested to advocate for better funding to help deal with the issue.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social