Police responding to a report of a suspected impaired driver wound up arresting a man in possession of $70,000-worth of cocaine.
Salmon Arm Staff Sgt. Scott West said approximately 1,500 doses of cocaine have been removed from the street as a result of the Tuesday, July 14 arrest of a 26-year-old male.
“It is worth even more at the street level where it’s sold at the gram level,” West commented regarding the seized drugs.
The arrest stemmed from a 2 a.m. report alerting Salmon Arm RCMP to a possible impaired driver eastbound on the Trans-Canada Highway.
West said officers found the vehicle and, what began as an investigation under the Motor Vehicle Act, became a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act investigation.
“The 26-year-old male driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was arrested and a search by RCMP officers located one-and-a-half kilograms of cocaine,” said West.
The cocaine was seized and the man is being held in custody in Salmon Arm.
West said the destination of the drugs is unknown at this time.
In June, West told Salmon Arm Council drug charges have increased in the community due to ongoing work by plainclothes officers targeting new and known drug dealers.