Fentanyl, crack seized in traffic stop

Winnipeg police seized fentanyl and arrested three people after pulling over a vehicle with a smashed windshield in the city’s north end Friday.

The incident happened at about 8:30 a.m. Oct. 2 on Powers Street near Flora Avenue. While they were speaking with the vehicle’s occupants, police officers saw a weapon “in plain view,” the Winnipeg Police Service stated in a news release Sunday.

Officers searched the vehicle, finding a machete, plastic brass knuckles with a functioning Taser, 73 grams of fentanyl worth about $3,725 nine grams of cocaine worth about $720, 13 grams of crack cocaine worth about $1,000, prescription pills, cell phones, scales and packaging materials, and $790 in cash.

Anthony Courchene, 41, is charged with seven weapons, drug trafficking and proceeds of crime-related offences. He was also arrested on two Powerview RCMP warrants related to assault and release order compliance charges.

The 31-year-old male driver and a 33-year-old female passenger face similar charges. The female passenger also faces a charge of possession of a prohibited device, the news release stated.

Courchene was detained in custody, while the two other accused were released on undertakings.