RCMP seize 1,000 tablets of meth, other drugs, at Pangnirtung post office
Ken Papatsie, 32, of Nunavut faces new charges; was also charged earlier this month with drug-related offences
Drugs and alcohol were seized when RCMP officers carried out a search warrant at Pangnirtung’s post office last week. (Photo courtesy of RCMP)
Two men, one from Pangnirtung and another from Ottawa, face numerous drug trafficking charges following a six-day investigation by police in Nunavut and Ontario.
Between Aug. 31 to Sept. 5, officers in Pangnirtung and Ottawa carried out multiple search warrants that led to “significant” seizures of illegal drugs and other materials, according to an RCMP news release.
One search warrant executed as part of the investigation occurred at the Canada Post office in Pangnirtung on Sept. 5.
Police seized approximately 1,000 methamphetamine tablets, 53 grams of cocaine, 21 grams of MDMA, and several bottles of liquor.
Ken Papatsie, 32, is charged with conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, conspiracy to traffic cocaine, conspiracy to traffic MDMA — which is a hallucinogen sometimes referred to as ecstasy or molly — possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine, possession for the purpose of trafficking MDMA, and possession of liquor for the purpose of sale.
Papatsie was charged earlier this month with eight other offences following a robbery and then a police search of a home in Pangnirtung.
In August 2022, he was sentenced to serve 405 days in jail for drug trafficking.
Papatsie was released early, on May 15 this year, after serving 270 days, according to Nunavut Department of Justice spokesperson Peter Varga.
“The client earned a remission for the remaining one-third of his sentence for good behaviour,” Varga stated in an email.
Papatsie has a court date set for Sept. 26 in Iqaluit.
RCMP say they also identified a suspected supplier from Ottawa through their investigation.
Ottawa police executed a search warrant Sept. 8 at the home of Dustin Venton, 32. The RCMP said officers seized 241 grams of cocaine, 28 hydromorphone pills, 50 methamphetamine tablets, a Taser and a “large sum” of money.
Venton, who is being held in custody, has been charged in Nunavut with conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, conspiracy to traffic cocaine, conspiracy to traffic MDMA, as well as individual charges of trafficking methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA.
He is also facing additional charges in Ottawa, according to RCMP.
Venton was to appear in court in Ottawa for a bail hearing Tuesday morning, according to the Ontario court schedule.
Well done officers of the RCMP. Well done.
More scum and scum bags off the street.
And Department of Justice and Peter Varga – Don’t get suckered into this “good behavior b.s.
The judges expect the sentences imposed to be completed.
The Prison and Reformatories Act would like to have a word with you Paul. So would many prisoner advocacy groups I’m sure.
Sentenced just last year. Released less than 4 months ago. Lmao. Why do we keep letting trash back on to the streets?