Drug House in Grande Prairie Closed

January 20, 2015

Grande Prairie… An investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) has resulted in the closure of a Grande Prairie home that for years has plagued the surrounding neighbourhood with drug activity and related violence.

ALERT’s Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) team closed the problem property located at 11002 94 Street on January 20. The home has been fenced off, boarded up, and the locks changed, with the property owners and tenants barred from entering for a period of 90 days. The closure was obtained through a court order known as a Community Safety Order.

The Mountview neighbourhood home is located next to a playground, which residents described as being abandoned due to prolific drug activity. Grande Prairie RCMP have been called to the home 50 times in the past several years. In October 2014 gun shots were reported at the home, and on November 21 a search warrant was executed that resulted in the seizure of stolen property and drugs.

SCAN uses civil legislation to target problem properties around the province that are used for illegal purposes such as prostitution, gangs, drug use and drug trafficking. The SCAN team consists of Alberta Sheriffs who partnered with Grande Prairie RCMP in this investigation.

This closure marks the second time a Grande Prairie problem property has been shutdown by SCAN. In June 2013 a drug house at 12613 105 Street was closed. Since SCAN was launched in 2008, a total of 37 community safety orders have been issued across the province.

SCAN began their investigation into the home at 11002 94 Street on May 2013 in response to numerous community complaints about drug activity. Albertans who suspect illegal activity is occurring at a property in their neighbourhood can contact SCAN online at www.alert-ab.ca/scan or toll-free at 1-866-960-SCAN (7226). All complaints are confidential.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime. Members of Alberta Sheriffs, Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Regional Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service, and RCMP work in ALERT.

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