Six people in Port Hardy have been arrested after an investigation where RCMP confiscated fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine and other drugs.
The investigation follows a spike in overdose death in the community.
Island District RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alex Bérubé said the arrests were made when police executed two search warrants on Saturday.
A handgun and a shotgun were also confiscated, he said.
Chief Supt. Shawna Baher, commander of Island District RCMP, said in a statement that the RCMP “will continue to support the community of Port Hardy and surrounding Indigenous communities in reducing overdose deaths.”
The North Island area has been under a toxic drug advisory issued by Island Health for the past seven days.
The Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations council declared a state of emergency on Feb. 28 following the deaths of 11 members in the past two months — many of them drug and alcohol related.
It called on the RCMP to do more to help protect youth from drugs and alcohol.
RCMP said it will continue to deploy additional resources in the region with the help of B.C. Highway Patrol and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C.
