Two people have been arrested and around half a million dollars in product and cash have been seized after RCMP broke up an illegal cannabis store in a home in Flin Flon.
RCMP's Manitoba North District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) and Flin Flon RCMP executed a search warrant at a home on Princess Boulevard April 30, coming after an investigation into a cannabis store operating out of the home. Manitoba RCMP announced information from the warrant and search in a statement issued June 6.
Inside, officers seized dozens of individual items, including what police estimated to be over $430,000 in product, over $90,000 in cash and amounts of psilocybin magic mushrooms and 25 firearms, most of which were antiques.
The products seized included, according to RCMP, "thousands of individually packaged cannabis gummies, hundreds of cannabis-infused chocolate bars, hundreds of vials of shatter, cannabis extracts, resins and other cannabis derivates, multiple pounds of psilocybin and 25 firearms."
According to RCMP, all products seized from the site did not have Manitoba taxation stamps, meaning the materials were illegal to sell. According to Manitoba provincial regulations, non-medical cannabis can only be sold from a cannabis retailer licenced by the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba. There are two licenced retailers in Flin Flon according to the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries website, both located on Main Street - neither are connected to the operation RCMP located.
Two people were arrested at the scene after the search - a 42-year-old male and a 23-year-old female. RCMP did not release names or identifying details of either arrested person. Both were released from police custody and have court appearances pending in Flin Flon Provincial Court August 1.
Both people face charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime and offences under both the federal Cannabis Act and the federal Firearms Act.
RCMP are continuing to investigate the situation. None of the charges have been proven in court.
