A Winnipeg Police Service shoulder badge is seen at the Public Information Office in Winnipeg, on September 2, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski)
A 22-year-old West St. Paul man is facing drug trafficking charges after Winnipeg police seized opium near Headingley early Thursday.
Winnipeg police were conducting drug interdiction enforcement along the Trans-Canada Highway when officers stopped a 2024 Ram 1500 pickup truck and detained the driver as part of a drug investigation.
Officers suspected interprovincial drug trafficking, and used a drug detection dog to search the vehicle. Police turned up more than three kilograms of opium concealed within it, with an estimated value of more than $200,000, along with $600 in Canadian currency.
The man was arrested and charged with possession of a scheduled substance for the purpose of trafficking involving opium, and possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime under $5,000. He was released on an undertaking.
