Nearly 40 charges are expected to be laid against 19 people following a three-month undercover sting by Kamloops Mounties targeting the street-level drug trade.
RCMP Cpl. Cheryl Bush said 28 of the charges expected to be laid are for trafficking cocaine, seven are for selling crystal meth and three are for dealing marijuana.
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Those numbers, she said, show a significant jump in the popularity of crystal meth among the Tournament Capital’s street-level drug users.
“What we’re seeing is that we think it [crystal meth] is on even terms with cocaine,” Bush said. “That’s definitely an increase from what we’ve seen in the past. It’s a fairly inexpensive drug and it’s highly, highly addictive.”
The increased use of crystal meth was the focus of a community meeting in Kamloops earlier this month.
On the streets of Kamloops, cocaine — whether in crack form or powder — and crystal meth fetch about $100 per gram and are sold in “points.”
The difference with crystal meth is that it takes less of the drug to experience an intense, longer-lasting high.
“It’s just growing in popularity,” Bush said. “And, again, it’s cheap.”
None of the names of those arrested have been made public and court dates have not yet been set.
