Officials with ALERT said that three people had been arrested following one of the largest fentanyl seizures in ALERT’s history.
ALERT said investigators seized 1,255 fentanyl pills from an apartment in the McQueen neighbourhood, along with a variety of other drugs, on April 20.
The following items were seized as part of the search warrant, aside from the fentanyl:
- 391 grams of methamphetamine
- 138 grams of cocaine
- 3.6 kilograms of marijuana
- 399 grams of cannabis resin
- 190 grams of cocaine buffing agent
- $123,678 cash proceeds of crime
- A 2015 Mercedes Benz SUV
As a result, three people were arrested, and face a total of nine charges:
- Josh Termul, 26, charged with five counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and one count of trafficking
- Shawki El Jurdi, 25, charged with a count of possession for the purpose of trafficking
- Nidal Chmait, 25, is facing two counts of possession of an offensive weapon
ALERT said the investigation started after investigators received information about suspected fentanyl distribution in the Edmonton and surrounding areas.
Officials said this case is the fifth largest fentanyl seizure ALERT has carried out – the largest was in February 2015, when 11,597 pills were seized in Calgary. Over the last two years, ALERT said about 30,000 pills have been seized in Alberta, about 9,000 of those seized in the Edmonton-area.
