January 31, 2012

ALERT and RCMP charge five in St. Paul drug trafficking investigation

ALERT Combined Forces Special Enforcement Units (CFSEU) from Wood Buffalo and Edmonton, along with the St. Paul RCMP detachment, made several arrests on January 27 after search warrants were executed on three St. Paul residences and one vehicle. The searches resulted in the seizure of small quantities of cocaine, marihuana and cannabis resin, hundreds of prescription pills, over $1,000 cash, stolen property, and other drug trafficking paraphernalia.

“The results of this investigation demonstrate the value of law enforcement working together to tackle organized crime in Alberta,” said CFSEU-Wood Buffalo Sgt. Irv Heide. “Given the number of arrests, we expect this will have an immediate, positive impact on St. Paul and the surrounding communities.”

The following St. Paul residents were arrested and charged:

• Marissa CARDINAL, age 21, is charged with three counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, one count of possession of a controlled substance and three counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.
• David LAVALLEE, age 50, is charged with three counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking and, and two counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.
• Todd TOMA, age 36, is charged with three counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance and three counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.
• Mathew SOROCHAN, age 19, is charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.
• Sean MCCARTHY, age 23, two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, one count each of production of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a controlled substance. MCCARTHY also faces seven counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.

ALERT is reminding the public to report suspicious activity in their community by contacting police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Made up of RCMP members, CFSEU-Wood Buffalo is an ALERT team funded by the Government of Alberta and the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo. CFSEU-Wood Buffalo works with other ALERT units to tackle serious and organized crime around the province. Over 400 municipal police, RCMP and sheriffs work
for ALERT.

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Media inquiries may be directed to:
Sgt. Irv Heide                                                                           
CFSEU-Wood Buffalo                                                              
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT)                  
780-788-4154                                                                            

S/Sgt. R.W. (Bob) Batchelor
Detachment Commander
St. Paul RCMP
780-645-8870

Jill Baird
Communications
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT)                  
780-509-3028