Vancouver – A six-week Vancouver Police investigation has led to three arrests, the seizure of $336,000 in toxic drugs from a Downtown Eastside rooming house, and recovery of thousands of dollars in stolen property earmarked for sale on the illicit market.

“Despite a drop in violence throughout the Downtown Eastside, there are continued concerns about criminal activity impacting the community,” says Sergeant Steve Addison. “As a result of this investigation, we’ve dismantled an organized criminal network that had taken over part of a building meant for low-income residents.”

VPD’s Task Force Barrage initiated the investigation in August to target criminal activity occurring in the area of Carrall and East Hastings Street. That intersection, along with Main and Hastings, historically has the highest frequency of violent crime in Vancouver, resulting in ongoing safety concerns from residents and business owners in the area.

During the six-week investigation, officers from Task Force Barrage gathered evidence about the activities of a criminal network operating in the West Pub and using several suites inside the West Hotel to traffic drugs, weapons, and stolen property.

“Although this hotel is meant for low-income community members, our investigation found that rooms were being rented by organized criminals who don’t even live in the neighbourhood,” says Sergeant Addison, adding that the rooms were not being lived in, but rather used to store stolen property, weapons, and illicit drugs.

“This is a reminder that, while violent crime and street violence is decreasing in the Downtown Eastside, organized criminals are still finding ways to profit at the expense of the neighbourhood’s most vulnerable. In this case, criminals were taking valuable housing away from people who need it most.”

On September 25, VPD executed search warrants in multiple locations, to recover:

  • $35,000 cash
  • 5 kilograms of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and hydromorphone pills, with a total single-dose street value of $336,000
  • $30,000 in stolen clothing and other retail merchandise
  • 44 knives, machetes, and swords
  • 1 taser
  • 9 guns (real and imitation)
  • 200 rounds of ammunition
  • 4 sets of body armour
  • 1 firearm suppressor (unlawful to possess in Canada)
  • 1 extended drum 50-round magazine (unlawful to possess in Canada)

Three men in their 50s – none of them Downtown Eastside residents – were arrested by Vancouver Police on September 25.

Criminal charges have not yet been laid, and the investigation is ongoing.