Two charged in Ste Anne drug raid

A man and a woman from Ste Anne face a slew of drug and weapons charges after a joint police investigation into cocaine trafficking that culminated in the search of two homes.

On Friday evening, RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service raided two homes at the centre of a cocaine trafficking investigation that began in January.

One of the homes is located on Dawson Road in Ste Anne and the other on Alfred Avenue in Winnipeg, the WPS said Saturday in a release.

Items seized from the Ste Anne residence included a .22-calibre rifle with two loaded magazines, a loaded .22-calibre revolver, a 30-06 pump action rifle, a loaded .22-calibre rifle, various .22-calibre rounds, a pellet rifle, a compound bow with arrows, a cell phone, five grams of cocaine with an estimated street value of $500, and drug paraphernalia including scales, score sheets, and drug packaging materials.

In the Winnipeg residence, police seized 6.7 ounces of cocaine worth about $10,000 and 100 Percocet pills worth about $1,500, plus $17,995 in Canadian currency, roughly $25,000 worth of contraband cigarettes, a cell phone, a scale, and drug packaging materials.

Ste Anne resident James Robert Armstrong, 41, was charged with two counts of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, one count of possessing oxycodone for the purpose of trafficking, possession of stolen property over $5,000, four counts of possessing an unauthorized firearm, one count of possessing a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm, four counts of unsafe storage of a firearm, four counts of possessing a weapon contrary to a prohibition order, two counts of possessing a weapon, one count of driving while prohibited, nine counts of violating a condition of a release order, and unlawful possession of tobacco products under the Excise Act.

A 41-year-old woman from Ste Anne, who police aren’t naming because her charges have not yet been sworn in court, was charged with two counts of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, one count of possessing oxycodone for the purpose of trafficking, possession of stolen property over $5,000, four counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, one count of possessing a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm, four counts of unsafe storage of a firearm, two counts of possessing a weapon, and one count of unlawful possession of tobacco products under the Excise Act.

Armstrong was detained in custody while the woman was released on a promise to appear in court.