VANCOUVER -- Surrey RCMP say three traffic stops in three weeks yielded significant drug and cash seizures.
Police found over 30 kilograms of cocaine and more than $125,000 in cash during the three incidents, and arrested six men in connection with drug trafficking.
That amount of cocaine equals around 120,000 doses, police said during a news conference Friday where RCMP displayed some of the seized bundles of $20 bills and bags of white cocaine.
"Drug trafficking is a significant driver of violent criminal activity," said Const. Richard Wright, a media liaison officer with the Surrey RCMP.
Wright said the incidents are still under investigation and there's no indication they are linked to "anyone involved in the Lower Mainland gang conflict."
But, he said, the seizures of the large amount of cocaine and cash will "represent a significant financial hit to the network of drug traffickers these seizures are associated to."
Wright said the first seizure happened on Nov. 8, when the Surrey RCMP Gang Enforcement Team was doing a traffic stop on 152 Street and 81 Avenue.
Officers discovered hidden compartments in the car, and found a large paint tray containing what they suspected contained "bulk, powdered cocaine."
On Nov. 9, SGET officers pulled over another vehicle at 140 Street and 108 Avenue after they observed the car cross the solid line on the road shoulder. The driver had an expired B.C. driver's licence, and officers found multiple cellphones, the drug MDMA, and cash.
When police officers searched the vehicle, they found bundles of cash wrapped in elastic bands totalling over $125,000.
Then, on Nov. 22, officers were again doing a traffic stop, this time at 80th Avenue and 120 Street. During the traffic check, officers noticed "a suspicious bag" in the car. Inside the bag, police found 30 individually wrapped packages of cocaine. Officers also found $5,000 in cash and a $25,000 money order.
In each of the three cases, the drivers and the passengers in each vehicle were initially arrested, but all were later released from custody as police continue to investigate. Wright said all three investigations are ongoing and police have not yet recommended charges to Crown counsel.
Wright added that the Surrey RCMP Gang Enforcement Team has "self-generated" nearly 2,000 investigations this year.
