Calgary police charge three in CTrain drug-trafficking operation

Calgary Police Service seized more than $92,000 worth of illicit drugs, and two men and a woman face charges, following a three-month investigation into drug activity along the city’s CTrain lines.

The investigation was launched in July and officers identified a suspect who they believed was a supplier of drugs to downtown dealers.

The drug trafficking operation was determined to be tied to a home in the northeast neighbourhood of Cityscape and a hotel room at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in the city’s southeast.

Officers launched simultaneous searches of the hotel room and the house in the 100 block of Cityscape Row N.E. on Sept. 10.

The searches led to the seizure of a total of:

155 grams of fentanyl;
679 grams of methamphetamine;
10.9 grams of crack cocaine;
$5,380 in cash;
Two sets of brass knuckles;
Bear spray; and,
An airsoft handgun.

One man was arrested at the home, another was apprehended at the hotel and a third suspect was located in a vehicle near the house in Cityscape.

Staff Sgt. Kurt Jacobs says the seized drugs are likely only a fraction of the illegal drugs moved by the operation.

“The amount of drugs seized during the point in time of the search warrants is not indicative of the level of trafficking we believe was at play,” said Jacobs in a statement. “Drugs move through distribution networks quickly and we are pleased to have disrupted the flow of drugs in our city, and in particular to our downtown area.”

The three suspects — 43-year-old Mark Anthony Icaro, 43-year-old Thao Thi Thanh Le and 49-year-old Frederic Valdeo Roa — have all been charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime.

Icaro and Roa also face weapons charges.