Victoria Police have issued warrants for 17 people on drug trafficking charges after a week-long undercover operation in Centennial Square.
Patrols had increased in the area in response to an uptick in violent crime, including an incident where windows at City Hall were shot with a pellet gun and a pair of stabbings on August 10th.
Undercover officers posed as customers from August 11 to 15 and purchased drugs from tents in Centennial Square, including methamphetamine, cocaine, psilocybin and fentanyl.
Tents in the square were used for drug trafficking in a rotating system. On some days, a tent could house a sleeping person, and on others, bedding would be removed and drug transactions would be conducted.
Officers conducting surveillance also noted a man with a concealed weapon entering the square.
See also: Victoria Police seize pellet gun used to damage City Hall and McPherson Theatre
When uniformed VicPD officers stopped and spoke to him, he said that he was armed with a metal club as protection against violence in Centennial Square.
Police say their undercover officers also experienced threats of violence while they worked.
As of Wednesday, VicPD had arrested five of 17 people accused in this investigation:
- Jamaal Ali Johnson, a 41-year-old Victoria man, is charged with trafficking a controlled substance.
- Desaree Gloria-Lee Solley, a 35-year-old Victoria woman, is charged with trafficking a controlled substance.
- Tomas Paul Podhora, a 28-year-old Victoria man, is charged with trafficking a controlled substance.
- Christopher John Ferland, a 31-year-old Victoria man, is charged with trafficking a controlled substance.
- Julian Michael Peterson, a 23-year-old Victoria man, is charged with trafficking a controlled substance.
Part of the stipulations of their release include conditions not to go to Centennial Square.
Twelve more people are wanted on outstanding warrants, and an additional individual faces a robbery charge, all related to this investigation.
