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Fifty pounds of Yukon bound marijuana seized

Fifty pounds of Yukon-bound marijuana seized Police in Nanaimo, B.C., stopped nearly 50 pounds of marijuana from coming into the Yukon last week.

Police in Nanaimo, B.C., stopped nearly 50 pounds of marijuana from coming into the Yukon last week. RCMP estimate it had a street value of approximately $120,000.

Last Friday, plainclothes RCMP officers arrested a 46-year-old man at B.C. Ferries’ Departure Bay terminal. The man had no previous criminal convictions, and was released later that day with a promise to appear in court.

The arrest came after a lengthy investigation focusing on the movement of money and drugs from Central Vancouver Island to the Yukon.

Whitehorse RCMP wouldn’t speak to this particular investigation, but said it’s not uncommon for drugs to come here from British Columbia.

“How do drugs get to the Yukon? They’re coming up here through the mail, through planes, through the highway, and there’s obviously a demand for it, because it keeps coming up here,” said Const. Christine Grant of the Whitehorse detachment.

Hard drugs, like cocaine and ecstasy, are easier to transport and hide than marijuana.

“But just because the supply has been stopped or intercepted, doesn’t mean the demand has,” said Grant. The public needs to continue to report any suspicious behaviour that may be related to the drug trade, she said.

The Nanaimo RCMP are continuing to investigate and more arrests may be made. They are recommending the suspect be charged with possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking, and that he appear in court in May.