Drug dealers taking advantage of evacuees, Tataskweyak man says after 2 charged with trafficking near hotels
Men ages 18 and 21 charged with trafficking cocaine near wildfire evacuation sites in Winnipeg
Two men are charged with trafficking cocaine outside hotels near Winnipeg's airport, where evacuees from the province's northern wildfires are staying.
On Sunday night, Winnipeg police officers responded to tips that dealers were focusing illegal activities around Wellington Avenue, between King Edward and Century streets.
They watched several transactions take place from a passenger vehicle, police said in a Wednesday news release.
Just before 9:30 p.m., the officers stopped the car a block away on Sargent Avenue and arrested the 18-year-old driver.
During the arrest, they found $820 cash, three grams of cocaine and a cellphone used as a drug line, according to police.
The driver is charged with trafficking cocaine, possessing proceeds of crime and breaching prior court orders.
The second man, a 21-year-old passenger, is charged with trafficking cocaine and possessing proceeds of crime.
Jonathan Kitchekeesik, a wildfire evacuee from Tataskweyak Cree Nation who is staying at a Winnipeg hotel near where the arrests happened, isn't surprised to hear reports of people selling drugs in an area where displaced people are staying.
"Our spirit hurts right now … and drug dealers are taking advantage of our people," Kitchekeesik said.
He would like to see First Nations deploy security personnel from their communities to help Winnipeg police keep evacuees safe from drug trafficking.
He also said providing more community activities and programming for evacuees would help, instead of leaving them stuck around hotels where they become a target for drug activities.
Winnipeg police Insp. Max Waddell told reporters at a Wednesday news conference it is "disheartening" that evacuees who were forced out of their homes under stressful situations are exposed to the drug trade in Winnipeg.
"Individuals coming in from these different centres may be very vulnerable" — for example, a person who has never been exposed to drugs before could develop a lifelong addiction, he said.
"Sadly, we have a list of drug problems in the city … and when there is the demand for the drugs out there, that supply is always going to find that demand," he said.
Winnipeg police have received reports of similar incidents during previous evacuations, Waddell said.
The two men charged this week are both from Winnipeg and are known to police.
Since the start of the wildfire season, Winnipeg police have deployed additional resources to visit the centres where evacuees have been staying in the city, including hotels, to check on evacuees, said Waddell.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the organization that represents 26 northern Manitoba First Nations, said in a statement it is deeply concerned about the reports of drug trafficking in areas where evacuees are staying.
Those evacuees are under "the unimaginable hardship and stress of fleeing their homes," and "to have others prey on them during this vulnerable time is completely unacceptable," MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in the statement.
MKO said it has highlighted the importance of ensuring culturally safe and trauma-informed support for evacuees. The organization is also working closely with law enforcement to help ensure displaced people get the care they need, MKO's statement said.
With files from Felisha Adam and Santiago Arias Orozco