SCAN closes a pharmacy in the southern United States

By Lethbridge Herald on September 4, 2024.

Al Beeber- LETHBRIDGE HERALD – [email protected]

Residents of a neighbourhood in the Southgate area of ​​Lethbridge can now breathe easy — for at least 90 days — after Alberta sheriffs shut down a home where drug activity prompted frequent police visits.

The large, two-story modern home, located at 4518 28 Ave. S., is situated on a street south of 24 Ave. S. and east of 43 St. Dr. Robert Plaxton Elementary School is just a short walk south of it.

Last month, the Alberta Police Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit obtained a court order in King’s Bench against the home’s owner, giving investigators the authority to close the property for 90 days starting Wednesday. Any rental or lease agreement was terminated as of Wednesday, and the owner and all tenants had to vacate the home.

The community safety order is in effect until December 3.

On Wednesday, the house was being boarded up and fenced off and all the locks were being changed. SCAN members will continue to monitor the house as the investigation continues.

Concerns about the property were first raised to SCAN just over two years ago on June 20, 2022, when the first of 13 complaints about drug activity was received.

On June 6 of this year, Lethbridge Police Services executed a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrant and recovered approximately 81 grams of yellow and red fentanyl, three stolen motorcycles and other stolen property.

On July 31, RCMP and the Southern Alberta Crime Reduction Unit executed a stolen property search warrant at the home and recovered small amounts of methamphetamine, stolen vehicles and other stolen property, as well as two smoke grenades and a loaded rifle.

SCAN investigators and a lawyer from Alberta Justice appeared in King’s Court on August 21 and were granted the order restraining the sale. The order also imposes conditions that will remain in effect for two years, until August 21, 2026, which impose additional conditions. The owner will be required to prevent further drug-related activity from occurring on the property.

Mike Dirkson, an inspector with SCAN in Calgary and Southern Alberta, said outside the home as work was being done behind him that investigators began their investigation after initial complaints and a warning letter was delivered to the property owner in April 2023.

SCAN hoped to open a dialogue with the owner to reach an agreement or a mutual solution to what was happening there.

“Unfortunately, those efforts were not successful with the property owner and the investigation continued. Activity on the property decreased and increased considerably, but began to intensify in the winter and spring of 2024, when we observed activity on the property that we believed to be drug-related and drug-related activity occurring much more frequently than we had previously observed,” he said.

SCAN hopes the closure “will break the cycle of crime and drug activity that was occurring on this property, but also give this community a break from what they have been enduring for over two years, if not longer,” Dirkson said.

“An investigation like this is not done without the support and cooperation of the Lethbridge Police Service and the RCMP. Something this complex and ongoing is a particular challenge and that also speaks to the length of this investigation.”

This is the second SCAN closure in recent weeks in the city and Dirkson said the newly formed team in Lethbridge reflects how increasingly active the activity has become in southern Alberta.

“We continue to try to investigate these properties as thoroughly as possible and really take into account our whistleblowers and the people in these communities who are affected by some of these properties. Not every investigation ends at this level,” but SCAN will take such steps when necessary, he said.

While SCAN will see busier sections of certain areas or the city, “there’s really no clear boundary between a community that won’t have anything like this and a community that will have property most of the time,” Dirkson said.

“It doesn’t really matter where the property is. It can be in any community, whether it’s a big city, a small city or a town,” he said.

Community members play a role in bringing attention to SCAN by filing anonymous complaints, Dirkson said, calling for those to take proactive steps and it’s important for SCAN to ensure they have confidence in the process.

“We are grateful to the whistleblowers in this situation because it took quite a while to get to this point, but they continued to cooperate with us, support us and knew that hopefully this would be the end result if the activity did not stop,” he added.

In a press release, LPS Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh said, “Creating a safer environment for our citizens improves the overall quality of our community. SCAN does a great job shutting down problematic properties where illegal activities are taking place. We are very grateful for their efforts and look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents.”

Since it was formed less than a year ago, Lethbridge’s SCAN unit has made its presence felt, says Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis.

“With the second team closure in the city in two weeks, I would like to take this opportunity to thank SCAN and all of our law enforcement partners who work tirelessly every day to keep our communities safe. I would also like to encourage all Albertans to report any suspicious activity to the SCAN unit,” he said.

Since its formation in 2008, SCAN has investigated more than 9,000 properties and issued 126 distress orders, with the majority of complaints resolved by working with property owners to stop illegal activity on their properties.

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