Cocaine, cash, shotgun seized during two Fort McMurray drug busts

Six people face charges after nearly a kilogram and a half of cocaine was seized in a pair of recent drug busts in Fort McMurray.

Those charged come from both Fort McMurray and Edmonton and face a series of trafficking charges in the separate investigations, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams said in a news release Tuesday.

On May 3, investigators with ALERT's organized crime and gang team searched a home on Manning Avenue downtown and seized 600 grams of crack cocaine, one kilogram of cocaine buffing agent and $2,000 in cash.

Two people were arrested in that case and jointly charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, ALERT officials said.

On May 9, gang unit officers searched two homes in Timberleaneighbourhood and recovered a shotgun,860 grams of cocaine, and $10,000 in cash.

Four people were arrested and face a total of 11 drug-related charges in relation to those searches.

"The amount of cocaine seized in these two investigations is significant for a safe community like Fort McMurray," Insp. David Dubnyk of ALERT said in a statement. "Along with getting a gun off the street, these arrests will benefit community safety."

The men and women arrested in both cases are between 21 and 27 years old, investigators said.