RCMP track organized crime to Lake Country

By Chris Law - Lake Country Calendar Published: June 18, 2009 2:00 PM

R.C.M.P. from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit-British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) worked with officers from the local detachment Thursday morning to execute a search warrant at a property on Coral Beach Road. The investigation is ongoing and as such R.C.M.P. are releasing few details pertaining to the search at this time. What Sgt. Bill Whelan with the CFSEU-BC did reveal was that the search warrant in Lake Country was carried out simultaneously with six other search warrants in Abbotsford. One person was taken into custody in Abbotsford. Whelan says it could likely be a month before more information is made public. The purpose of the CFSEU-BC’s is to facilitate the disruption and suppression of organized crime, which affects British Columbians. Whelan says that in law enforcement terminology organized crime refers to the top level. In contrast gang violence such as the recent wave of shootings to plague the lower mainland is considered mid-level. Mid-level crimes are typically dealt with by the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force. “It’s a good thing for people in Lake Country to know that these units operate in the community. It says to criminals that you can’t come here and avoid detection,” said Sgt. Rick McIsaac who commands Lake Country’s R.C.M.P. detachment.