Prince George RCMP’s Problem Oriented Policing Team and Downtown Safety Unit executed two Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and Firearms search warrants on the 2600-block of Quince Street on November 29. The search warrants were executed in response to an investigation from earlier that day, where police witnessed a man set a stolen vehicle on fire.
Police officers with the Problem Oriented Policing team and Downtown Safety Unit were on patrol in the area of Victoria Street and McCullagh Avenue when the observed the arson. The suspect was arrested a short distance away as he tried to flee in a waiting taxi, along with three other passengers. Police officers located a loaded firearm as well as suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and hydromorphone inside the taxi. All those arrested are known to police.
“Locating the firearms and illicit drugs prompted the investigators to execute search warrants at the residences of some of the suspects,” said Cpl. Jennifer Cooper, Media Relations Officer for the Prince George RCMP. “Once inside, police officers located multiple firearms, including several high-powered firearms, and ammunition. They also located silicone molds that appear to have been used to press illicit drugs into candy-like shapes.
Three of the four suspects were released pending charge approval by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. The fourth suspect, 39-year-old John Robert Barton Craig, will remain in jail until his next court appearance. Charges were approved against Mr. Craig for arson, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of stolen property over $5000, fail to comply with probation and possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition.
The investigation remains ongoing.