SCAN shuts down southside drug house
By Lethbridge Herald on September 4, 2024.
A southside home is boarded up and fenced on Wednesday after the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit of the Alberta Sheriffs obtained a Community Safety Order and had the home closed until Dec. 3 due to drug activity that had been occurring there for at least two years.
Herald photo by Al BeeberAl Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Residents in a neighbourhood in the Southgate area of Lethbridge can breathe easy now – for at least 90 days – after the Alberta Sheriffs shut down a house where drug activity prompted frequent police visits.
The large two storey modern home, located at 4518 28 Ave. S., is situated on a street just south of 24 Ave. S. and east of 43 St. Dr. Robert Plaxton Elementary School is just a short walk south of it.
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit of the Alberta Sheriffs obtained a court order in Court of King’s Bench last month against the home’s owner which gives investigators authority to close the property for 90 days starting Wednesday. Any tenancy or lease agreement was terminated effective Wednesday with the owner and all tenants required to vacate the home.
The community safety order is in effect until Dec. 3.
On Wednesday, it was being boarded up and fenced and all the locks were being changed. SCAN members will continue to monitor the home while their investigation continues.
Concerns about the property were first raised with SCAN just over two years ago – on June 20, 2022 – when the first of 13 complaints about drug activity were received.
On June 6 of this year, Lethbridge Police Services executed a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrant, and recovered about 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 warrant at the home and recovered were small amounts of methamphetamine, stolen vehicles and other stolen property as well as two smoke hand grenades and a loaded rifle.
SCAN investigators and a lawyer for Alberta Justice appeared in Court of King’s Bench on Aug. 21 and were granted the CSO. The order also imposes conditions that will remain in effect for two years, until Aug. 21, 2026 that imposes additional conditions. The owner will be required to prevent further drug related activities from occurring at the property.
Mike Dirkson, inspector for SCAN in Calgary and southern Alberta, said outside the house as work went on behind him that investigators started their investigation after the initial complaints and in April of 2023 a warning letter was served on the property owner.
SCAN hoped to open a dialogue with the owner to come up with an agreement or mutual agreed upon solution to what was occurring there.
“Unfortunately those efforts weren’t successful with the owner and the investigation continued. Activity at the property ebbed and flowed considerably but it started to intensify in winter and spring of 2024 where we were seeing activity at the property which we believed related to drug and drug-related activity occurring far more often than we observing prior,” he said.
SCAN hopes with the closure “it breaks the cycle of criminality and drug activity that was occurring at this property but it also gives this community a break from what they’ve been enduring for two plus years if not longer,” said Dirkson.
“An investigation like this doesn’t happen without the support and co-operation of Lethbridge Police Service and the RCMP. Something this complex and ongoing is a particular challenge and that speaks to the duration of this investigation, as well.”
This is the second SCAN closure in recent weeks in the city and Dirkson said the newly formed team in Lethbridge reflects how increasingly busy activity has become in southern Alberta.
“We continue to try to investigate these properties as thoroughly as we can and really be cognizant of our complainants and the people in these communities that are being affected by some of these properties. Not all investigations end up at this level” but SCAN will take such steps when necessary, he said.
While SCAN will see busier sections of certain areas or city, “there isn’t a really isn’t a clear boundary between a community that will have nothing like this and a community that will have a property more often than not,” said Dirkson.
“It really doesn’t matter where the property is. It can be in any community, whether big city, small city or town,” he said.
Community members play a role in bringing attention to the SCAN by making anonymous complaints, said Dirkson, calling those who take action pro-active and it’s important for SCAN to make sure they have trust in the process.
“We do thank the complainants in this situation because it did take quite a long time to get to this point but they continued to co-operate with us, support us and knew that hopefully this would be the end result if the activity didn’t stop,” he added.
In a media release, LPS chief Shahin Mehdizadeh said “creating a safer environment for our citizens improves the overall quality of our community. SCAN does great work shutting down problem properties where illegal activities are taking place. We’re really thankful for their efforts and we look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents.”
Since being formed less than a year ago, the Lethbridge SCAN unit has made its presence well known, says Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis.
“With the team’s second closure in the city inside of two weeks, I would like to take this opportunity to thank SCAN and all 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 being formed in 2008, SCAN has investigated more than 9,000 properties and issued 126 CSOs with most complaints being resolved by working with owners to stop illegal activity at their properties.
26-25
gosh, golly, just 2 years to allow the good people of the area their fair measure of safety and peace. is the minister so pathetic as to actually use this to assure us how well the system is working? it is not working: 2 months is too long, let alone 2 years on this one and 3 plus years on another, which also caused a fire that gutted a home and killed a family pet.
hate to utter it, but it may be necessary to put together a posse of locals that are willing and able to ensure the right of people to peace and safety if the system is unwilling to do as much in a time frame that is far more reasonable and reassuring.