The watchful eyes of neighbours resulted in the arrest of two Black Diamond residents who are now facing drug trafficking charges.
A joint investigation between the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) and Turner Valley RCMP resulted in the shutdown of an alleged drug trafficking operation in a home on 1st Ave. SW in Black Diamond on Oct. 8.
The house was the centre of numerous neighbourhood complaints related to suspected drug activity.
Investigators confiscated more than two kilograms of marijuana, a rifle, $1,000 cash and other evidence of drug trafficking at the residence.
“Marijuana is considered a gateway drug,” said Turner Valley RCMP Cpl. Terry Hamelin. “Everybody in general, from the top to the bottom in this community is going to be happy with this.”
Hamelin said the arrests wouldn’t have been made without the public’s input.
“It’s a small community and they realize the police are under resourced and overworked,” he said. “They took it into their own hands to help the police. To go into someone’s house, you have to have a lot of ground. The burden of proof that relies on the police is huge. I’ve been posted here for six years and the community comes to us frequently with things that are on our radar.”
Brian Blakeman, 56, and Tammy Forsyth, 44, are both charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, proceeds of crime, unsafe storage of a firearm and possessing a firearm without a licence.
Hamelin said Blakeman, a prominent name in the community, had been on the radar for a number of years, but it wasn’t until this past summer the RCMP received enough legitimate information to initiate an investigation and call in the assistance of ALERT.
“(ALERT) assisted us in this investigation by helping us collect more evidence and that gave us more grounds to apply for a warrant,” he said.
Black Diamond Mayor Sharlene Brown said, like many communities, drugs have been an issue in Black Diamond for years.
“For a long period of time we have been asking for the RCMP to deal with the drug issues that have been happening within our community,” she said. “It’s been a priority on our agenda for a long time. There is more that has to be focused on as well because there is other drugs within our community and other types of drugs in our community.
“Those other high potency drugs have to be looked at as well because they cause a lot of societal issues.”
Anyone who suspects drug-related activity is taking place in their neighbourhood is encouraged to contact the Turner Valley RCMP at 403-933-4262 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
