Guns, booze seized on winter road

Four people have been charged after police say drugs and illicit liquor were found after a vehicle ran out of gas on a winter road.

The people inside the vehicle were stranded in Bunibonibee Cree Nation sometime before 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.

First Nation safety officers told RCMP more than an hour later that they had taken five people into custody for trying to smuggle drugs and alcohol into the dry community. RCMP met with the safety officers on the road and arrested the five people.

After a search of the vehicle and the area where it had stopped, police seized more than 850 grams of crack cocaine, more than 200 grams of cocaine, a small quantity of methamphetamine, drug-related paraphernalia and more than 200 bottles of liquor.

One of the five people, a 34-year-old Bunibonibee woman, had apparently been assaulted. She was taken to the community’s nursing station and later flown out of the community for treatment.

The other four people — two Bunibonibee men, ages 22 and 18, a 37-year-old Bunibonibee woman and a 43-year-old Winnipeg woman — are charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime. They have also been charged under the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act. All were remanded into custody.

Police are still investigating.