Senior jailed for drug trafficking operation
A senior citizen has been sentenced to federal jail time for selling drugs out of her Prince Albert home.
Rosemarie Zoerb was sentenced Friday at Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench to 34 months, or just under three years, in jail on charges relating to the possession and trafficking of various drugs. Zoerb, 61, had previously pleaded guilty to charges stemming from two separate incidents, including charges for possession for the purposes of trafficking of drugs such as hydromorphone, buprenorphine, methylphenidate and marijuana, and possession of the proceeds from crime.
Zoerb, who had been released on bail while her charges were before the court, was taken into custody Friday following the sentencing. Court heard she operated a large-scale drug distribution business from her home in a residential neighbourhood of Prince Albert.
Zoerb was arrested in September 2015 after police received tips from informants that she was selling drugs out of her home. Federal Crown Prosecutor Trent Forsyth said police conducting surveillance at the home noted numerous people coming and going from the house, which is consistent with drug activity. During a search of the home, police saw a sign on the side door to the house asking that no one knock before 9 a.m., or after 11 p.m. A safe was also found inside the home, bolted to the living room table, containing numerous pre-packaged baggies of various pills and cash.