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Fentanyl cited in White Rock drug charges

Two counts of trafficking laid in connection with May 2018 incident
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One man is facing drug-trafficking charges – including one related to fentanyl – in connection with an incident last May in White Rock.

Navjot Cheema appeared in Surrey Provincial Court Wednesday (Feb. 6) and is set to return on March 6.

Officials with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada told Peace Arch News last month that two charges were sworn against Cheema on Jan. 16 – one for the possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and the other for possession of fentanyl and a derivative of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

Officers arrested a 31-year-old man and seized nearly a kilogram of cocaine as well as “17 street doses” of fentanyl on May 20, 2018, while responding to a report of a break-and-enter in the 800-block of Stayte Road.

READ MORE: Arrest leads to controlled-substance cache in White Rock

Const. Chantal Sears said at the time that police arrested a suspect who was seen running from the residence, and that it was determined the home in question “was being used for criminal activity for a long period of time.”

RCMP’s Clandestine Synthetic Drug Laboratories unit was called to assist with the investigation, and the two-storey white house remained surrounded by yellow police tape for 24 hours.

It took nearly eight months for charges to be laid due to the “pretty complex” nature of the file, Sears said after charges were confirmed.

“Everything has to go to the Health Canada lab to get analyzed,” she explained.



tholmes@peacearchnews.com

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Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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