Fuel fraud investigation leads B.C. police to drug operation

Police in Delta, B.C. said an initial investigation into suspected fuel fraud led them to a much more serious crime ring, involving a drug lab and a marijuana growing operation.

Nearly 50 charges, ranging from fraud under $5,000 to possessing guns and trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, were laid this week against five men allegedly involved in the ring.

The Delta Police Department (DPD) first began an investigation into fraudulent fuel cards being used in February 2023, they said in a Friday statement.

"Dozens of fraudulent transactions had been conducted with a value of greater than $25,000," according to the statement. "The investigation identified an organized group was involved in the fraud."

In April 2023, DPD said officers conducted a search of a property on the 6100-block of 104th Street as they investigated the fraud.

During the search, officers found fully loaded and restricted guns, a "fully operational" drug lab and an unlicensed cannabis growing operation.

They said they seized drugs worth $1 million in street value, as well as vehicles associated with organized crime.

Two of those vehicles have since been forfeited to the government, according to the DPD, with others still involved in civil forfeiture proceedings.

While police recommended 73 charges against nine people in the case, 47 were approved against five people on Monday.

Four of the men have been charged with committing fraud under $5,000, with one Delta man being charged with the bulk of the drugs and firearms offences.

Police said two of the men have been arrested already, while the three others are wanted on unendorsed warrants — which means that once arrested, they will be held in custody until they appear in court.

"When we commence an investigation, we follow the evidence, and we don't necessarily know where a specific file is going to go," Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord said in the statement.