Special investigators tackle dozens of Yukon drug dealing complaints

The Yukon government's Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit says it investigated 55 complaints in 2014 about illegal activities such as drug traffickingand bootlegging.

The unit says the investigations resulted in nine evictions or formal warnings.

Investigators look into complaints about illegal or harmful activities onresidential and commercial propertiesthat pose a threat to community safety.Their director, Jeff Ford, says the investigations can come as a big relief to members of the community who feel threatened or unsafe, citing one landlord's experience last year.

He was fearful of attending his rental house once he became aware of the scale and recurring nature of illegal activity at his property, in this case, distribution of crack cocaine," Ford says.

"The owner was also not aware that the tenant had a history of drug related violence.

Ford says following the tenant's eviction in August, 2014, investigators found that the doors of the home were fortified with steel bars without the owners' knowledge.

Hesays extra security measures like that, and surveillance cameras, are often a feature of buildings usedfor selling drugs and illegal alcohol.