Project Banish among Brandon’s largest cocaine busts

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This article was published 29/11/2022 (1342 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 14-month investigation by the Brandon Police Service has resulted in one of the largest cocaine seizures in the department’s history.

Police confiscated more than nine kilograms of cocaine — valued at over $900,000 — and arrested several members accused of being part of a local drug trafficking ring, service members said at a press conference at Brandon police headquarters Monday.

Joined by Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen, Deputy Chief Randy Lewis highlighted the findings of the operation, dubbed “Project Banish.”

In September 2021, Brandon Police Service’s Organized Crime section began looking into a local drug trafficking cell, which was believed to be responsible for importing cocaine to Brandon from Ontario and British Columbia.

After more than a year of surveillance, BPS had gathered enough evidence to execute several search warrants last week, resulting in the arrest of 10 suspects.

In addition to the cocaine, police seized more than $450,000 in cash as well as several vehicles and a variety of weapons, including handguns, machetes, a ballistic vest and rifle.

During Monday’s news conference, Sgt. Paul McBeth identified 27-year-old Logan Bickerton, who was arrested Nov. 21, as the ringleader of the drug trafficking group.

The complex network of people who are accused of participating in the cell includes Bickerton’s immediate family members, with six of the 10 people arrested last week sharing his last name.

The group includes 54-year-old Angela Bickerton, who is accused of maintaining control of the cash from drug sales and storing the money in her residence.

“Angela was also responsible for disbursing the money to another member of the drug trafficking organization to pay for a resupply of cocaine,” McBeth said.

Other individuals arrested during Project Banish include 55-year-old Craig Crofton, who was allegedly in charge of securing stash locations where the Bickerton’s drugs could be stored, and James Reid, 30, who is accused of serving as a sub-dealer and Logan Bickerton’s most-trusted associate in the drug network.

Overall, BPS has laid 33 criminal charges stemming from last week’s search warrants, although McBeth anticipates further arrests will be made in connection to Project Banish.

McBeth also noted the drug ring was operating completely independently in the Brandon area and wasn’t being run by a larger outside group.

Despite the overall success of Project Banish, McBeth admitted a power vacuum could emerge in the community now that this major drug trafficking network, which was dealing in large amounts of product, has collapsed.

“I’m sure there will be another group looking to fill that role,” the sergeant said. “And we will do our best to discover who they are and take them down as well.”

Lewis thanked the multiple law enforcement agencies who helped BPS make Project Banish a success. This support network includes the Winnipeg Police Service, Manitoba Criminal Intelligence Centre and Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

“Project Banish is an example of how just such a co-ordinated effort involving invested organizations and people can successfully dismantle a drug trafficking network,” Lewis said.

Goertzen added the province provided plenty of funding to help Project Banish cross the finish line.

“The women and men who are in our law enforcement, all the different agencies, they just do incredible work,” the minister said.

“They work independently in their own communities, but more and more we need to ensure that they’re not working independently when it comes to the sharing of information.”

Logan Bickerton’s next scheduled court date is Dec. 15. He is charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime, conspiracy to traffic a schedule 1 substance, possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000, possession of an unauthorized firearm (two counts) and possession of a restricted firearm obtained by crime.

Bickerton is no stranger to the Brandon court system. He was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking after police raided his family’s home June 7, 2014 and allegedly discovered 186.82 grams of the illegal substance.

However, the charges against Bickerton were dismissed in 2016, as a judge ruled the police hadn’t properly corroborated their informants’ tips when they sought a search warrant.

On Monday, Lewis added BPS has worked with a Crown attorney since the onset of Project Banish to ensure a successful prosecution process in court.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson