Calgary police have charged 29 people in two separate investigations targeting drug trafficking and violence in the core and have laid a total of 128 charges.

Police were alerted by the public to drug activity downtown and initiated an investigation last December. Officers were witness to a number of drug-related activities along the 17 Avenue corridor and arrested seven people for a variety of drug and stolen property offences as well as outstanding warrants.

“Drug activity breeds violence and property crime such as break and enters, car prowlings and vehicle thefts,” said District 1 Inspector Cliff O’Brien. “We will not tolerate this kind of activity preventing families and members of the public from enjoying our city and all that it has to offer.”

In January, police turned their attention to 7th Avenue and saw drug trafficking taking place near restaurants, the library and Olympic Plaza. The second phase of the investigation resulted in 81 drug and criminal charges against 22 people and police say more than half were known to them.

“This is taking place sometimes in broad daylight, in front of families, in front of people going to work or people going to read a book at a library and that’s just unacceptable,” said Inspector Cliff O’Brien, Calgary Police Service District 1.

Investigators say the most commonly seized drug was crystal meth, followed by morphine, and that Fentanyl was only confiscated once out of more than 30 drug seizures.

“I think our community has seen an increase in the drug trafficking and we have seen, statistically, we’ve seen an increase in the violence, in particular the assaults and the stabbings that have taken place downtown,” said O’Brien.

The following people are facing charges:

  • Lloyd Fred Brule, 25
  • Robert Charles Gourlay, 34
  • Daniel Paul Marquis, 33
  • Jayson Youngberg, 45
  • Emily Mason, 29
  • Riley Gabe Fiddler, 19
  • Andrew Maier, 40
  • Jason Kruger, 55
  • Justin Black, 25
  • Alexander McNair, 37
  • Aaron Mathias, 36
  • Julius Peacemaker, 28
  • Brian Jarvis, 49
  • William Dufour, 25
  • Clifford Turner, 58
  • Cory Depres, 35
  • Colleen Choma, 33
  • Darren Tomczak, 41
  • Joshua Serson, 24
  • Robert Jacobson, 39
  • Vanessa Kittiekaywinnie, 26
  • Chasity Courtre, 22
  • Brooke Dionne, 22
  • Margaret Weaselhead, 29
  • Elena Zaldana-Parenteau, 23
  • John Reid, 57
  • Said Ashraf, 40
  • Darren Kennedy, 48
  • Peter McKenzie, 61

“The investigation is not done, there are still some people that we are looking to identify and looking to arrest and the investigation is still ongoing,” said O’Brien.

Police say of the 29 people arrested, 13 have already been released with conditions, but that they will monitor them to make sure they are complying.