Mounties arrest 7 after 'significant' seizure of drugs, guns on Vancouver Island

Police seized several kilograms of drugs along with $240,000 in cash, 400 cartons of contraband cigarettes, body armour, a Taser, a 3D printer, one rifle and six handguns, including a pair of 3D-printed pistols. (RCMP)

Mounties say seven people have been arrested after a series of co-ordinated property searches on Vancouver Island yielded multiple firearms, including 3D-printed handguns, and several kilograms of drugs.

Authorities say the investigation began last November and targeted mid-level drug trafficking in the Cowichan Valley.

The probe eventually led to the searches of three residences in the Duncan area and one home in Sooke on March 12 and March 19.

During the searches, police seized an estimated three kilograms of suspected fentanyl, two kilograms of suspected methamphetamine and one and a half kilograms of suspected cocaine, the RCMP said in a news release Friday.

Forty litres of the drug gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) were also found, along with $240,000 in cash, 400 cartons of contraband cigarettes, body armour, a Taser, a 3D printer, one rifle and six handguns, including a pair of 3D-printed pistols, according to the release.

Police have only identified one of those arrested as 38-year-old Grant Giles of the Fraser Valley. He stands charged with four counts of drug trafficking and one count of failing to comply with a court order.

Court records show Giles has a lengthy criminal history, including previous charges of assault, drug trafficking and flight from police. He is scheduled to appear in court on the most recent charges on Monday.

Investigators say drug and weapons charges are still pending against a 32-year-old man from Greater Victoria and a 38-year-old woman from the Cowichan Valley.

"This series of arrests and search warrant executions will have a significant impact on the drug supply for Cowichan and the South Island and make our communities safer," Staff-Sgt. Deborah Kelly, commander of the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP's plainclothes unit, said in the release.

"From the fentanyl seizure alone, approximately 25,000 street-level doses were seized," Kelly added.

Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP at 250-748-5522.