SMOKY LAKE - The provincial organization that works to shut down drug houses has put a stop to drug activity at a property in Smoky Lake County.
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit of the Alberta Sheriffs obtained a court order against the owners of the property in Smoky Lake County.
"The community safety order granted in Court of Queen’s Bench places the property located along Township Road 615 under supervision for five years, and includes a 90-day closure that began at noon on Dec. 15," according to a media release from SCAN, RCMP, and Justice and Solicitor General. "Crews have boarded up the home, changed the locks and erected a fence around the property to prevent anyone from entering until March 11, 2021."
SCAN began investigating the property in August of 2019, in response to complaints of drug activity taking place at the location. SCAN worked with RCMP, "which provided evidence obtained during a criminal investigation that included drug trafficking paraphernalia and weapons sized during searched of the property."
The location had been part of a prior SCAN investigation in 2016, but was resolved with a warning letter to the owners, "who had a relative living on the premises at the time," according to the media release.
The property sat vacant for periods over the next two years, but complaints about renewed drug activity in 2019 prompted the most recent investigation.
Once the property is turned back to the owners in March of 2021, it will be monitored for the duration of the community safety order, which expires in December of 2025.
“We believe in giving law enforcement agencies the tools they need to protect Albertans and keep them safe, no matter where they live. SCAN investigations are an effective way of stopping criminal activity that endangers communities by holding owners accountable for what happens on their property," said Kaycee Madu, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General.
Since its inception in 2008, Alberta’s SCAN unit has investigated more than 5,800 problem properties and issued more than 90 community safety orders. The majority of complaints are resolved by working with property owners to keep criminal activity out of the community.
