4 men who ‘behaved like they owned Clare' arrested after 13-month investigation
CBC
After an investigation that took more than a year, RCMP have arrested four men in southwest Nova Scotia who they accuse of drug trafficking and arson, as well as intimidation and making threats.
All four were arrested in Digby County on Wednesday, when police searched multiple locations in Church Point and another in Belliveau Cove.
In a news release Thursday, police said they seized drugs and drug paraphernalia, digital scales, electronic devices, cash and financial documents.
The arrests were made by the southwest Nova street crime enforcement unit as part of an 13-month investigation called Project Hammertime.
“These individuals, through their criminal activities and intimidation tactics, behaved like they owned Clare,” Supt. Jason Popik of Southwest Nova District RCMP said in the release.
“We recognize the disruption they’ve caused to the surrounding community and are pleased to be moving forward with these charges.”
RCMP Sgt. Jeff LeBlanc, commander of the Meteghan detachment, said he appealed to the federal government for extra resources to investigate an alarming rise in violence in the Clare area, some of which was linked to the lobster fishing industry.
“In our particular area, seafood is profitable and it's difficult to trace. So it's an easy means,” Leblanc said.
Over the past 18 months, a string of violent crimes including arson, shootings and cases of intimidation have rocked residents of small coastal towns.
Victims were fearful to come forward to help police, LeBlanc said, worried they would be targeted next.
A task force was formed to carry out an in-depth investigation with a team of about 60 members.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Criminal Intelligence Service of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources contributed to the investigation.
“It is totally that support that brings us here today with these charges,” LeBlanc said Thursday.
Considering the effect the alleged crimes have had on communities, police held a town hall meeting in the area on Wednesday evening to let people know they had made arrests.
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