Two charged with child endangerment in northwest Edmonton gun and drug bust
Edmonton police say a man and a woman have been charged with child endangerment after drugs, cash and guns were seized from a home in the McCauley neighbourhood.
EPS say they’d been monitoring the pair since July, after reports of “controlled substances” being sold from the home.
During their investigation, officers learned four children were living with the pair.
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On Nov. 17, police from the EPS Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) Section, EPS Downtown Branch Patrol and the EPS Tactical Unit, along with the Alberta Sheriff’s Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Unit, executed a search warrant for the home.
Officers were able to uncover and seize the following items:
- Small quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine (worth roughly $3,400);
- Approximately $112,000 in cash, including over $11,000 in coins;
- 11 firearms, including a loaded lever action rifle and a loaded 12-gauge shotgun;
- Hundreds of rounds of rifle and handgun ammunition;
- Various edged weapons and brass knuckles;
- A variety of drug paraphernalia and items consistent with the sale and distribution of controlled substances.
Following the search, Edmonton police placed the children in Children’s Services.
“In addition to the children present in the home, our officers were concerned with the dozens of vulnerable persons they witnessed attending the residence to purchase controlled substances,” says Acting Inspector David Paton with the EPS Organized Crime Branch. “These individuals were clearly targeting this population and putting these children in danger, and we’re pleased we were able to step in and prevent further victimization.
“Organized drug trafficking, whose primary market is our vulnerable populations are sadly not uncommon in our city, and this is only one of many that we are currently investigating.”
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Investigators have since charged the 49-year-old man and 45-year-old woman with abandoning and/or endangering a child under 10, four counts of causing a child to be in need of intervention under the child, four counts of Youth and Family Enhancement Act and endangering a child under the Drug Endangered Children Act.
The man was also charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, careless use of a firearm, careless storage of a firearm, possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of stolen property over $5,000 and three counts of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
