Two men have been charged after Edmonton police seized more than $109,400 in weapons, drugs, contraband tobacco, and designer goods in a series of searches.
The Edmonton Police Service convenience store task force executed a search warrant on Nov. 19, at Joy’s Lucky 7 Food Store convenience store near 67 Street and 118 Avenue, police said in a Monday news release.
During the search, officers seized roughly $60,000 of synthetic cannabis, nearly 45 bottles of psilocybin edibles, nearly 1,000 contraband cigars, 70 grams of contraband chewing tobacco, several brass knuckles, and more than $1,000 in Canadian currency.
Police then executed a second warrant on Dec. 1 at a second Joy’s Lucky 7 Food Store location near 156 Street and 106 Avenue, where they seized nearly $4,800 of synthetic cannabis, packaging material, nearly 40 spring-assisted knives, and nearly 500 contraband cigars.
Lastly, police executed a third search warrant on Dec. 18 at a home near Lessard Road and Dalhousie Way and seized nearly $15,000 in Canadian currency, one set of brass knuckles, and a large selection of designer goods, including $25,000 in purses.
On Jan. 7, EPS conducted follow-up inspections at the locations, where police seized nearly 200 packages of synthetic cannabis and more than 300 contraband cigars with “tax paid” stamps illegally applied to them.
“We are glad that we were able to successfully take illegal drugs, contraband tobacco and weapons out of shops that service our community, including areas close to schools,” said Const. Michael Davis, in the news release. “Our team remains steadfast in its goal to ensure convenience stores sell legitimate and legal items.”
Police arrested Rui Ho, 60, and Aaron Ho, 32, in late January. The men and the parent corporation of the convenience stores face a total of 63 charges, including four counts of drug trafficking, four counts of contraband tobacco trafficking, two counts of weapons trafficking, and fraud under $5,000
No court dates have been set for either man.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact police at 780-423-4567. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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