Recent Raids Net Vancouver Police Defeat on Darknet Merchants

Global Operations

Posted by AI on 2025-09-01 05:00:48 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-05 00:16:40

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Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood just got a little safer.

In a July 17th press release, the Vancouver Police Department announced that its Task Force Barrage, formed in February, added another victory in its campaign against the city's opioid crisis. Task Force Barrage is an interdisciplinary group composed of officers from the Vancouver Police Department, the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, and the RCMP Drug Section.

Operating behind this force is somewhat akin to the show *The Wire*'s Major Case Response Unit, but with a whole lot more OxyNorm 40s and fentanyl pills.

This time, the combined efforts of the task force focused on a building at 339 East Hastings Street, which the release alleges was the center of a group of drug dealers operating primarily in the Downtown Eastside. The drugs involved included cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, methadone, and dilaudid. The haul netted 14 kilograms of these drugs, with an estimated street value of over $2,000,000, and $141,000 in cash. The drugs came from a variety of sources, including the darknet, police assert.

Since its formation, Task Force Barrage has forwarded 492 cases to prosecutors for consideration of charges and has seized 1,145 weapons, 127 of which were real or replica guns. The recent raid on July 17th led to the arrest of 19 individuals, all of whom were released pending charges. The task force's efforts are focused on reducing the unacceptable overdose rates in the area.

As of November 2021, the BC Coroners Service reported 5,000 deaths due to illicit drugs in the province since the beginning of the opioid crisis in 2016.

Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer commented on the operation: "Targeting dealers who operate in our neighborhoods and traffick dangerous drugs into our communities continues to be a priority for us. These enforcement actions are critical in disrupting the flow of illegal drugs into our city and taking weapons off the street. But, we recognize that enforcement alone will not end the crisis of addiction that is gripping our community."

Palmer's remarks echo a now familiar theme: while enforcement actions are critical in disrupting the flow of illicit drugs into our cities, they will not end the addiction crisis. The opioid crisis has evolved, adapting to disruptions in the drug supply by morphing into a hyper-toxic supply of counterfeit pills, often laced with fentanyl.

These words hint at a kinder, more humane approach to policing. The message seems to be moving away from a focus on punishment, instead favoring a pathway to treatment. To that end, the Vancouver Police Department has noted that it is working on ways to divert people who use drugs away from the criminal justice system and toward addiction treatment and mental health care.

Palmer's pledge is a marked change from the more punitive approach of previous generations. Whether the softer approach will work remains to be seen. For now, the $2 million bust is a very visible sign that the old ways are giving way to a kinder, more effective, approach.

Go!