A hidden compartment was no match for VicPD officers executing a drug bust that yielded thousands of dollars in cash and illicit substances.

On Friday November 13th at approximately 10:45 p.m., officers stopped a vehicle at the intersection of Belleville and Government Streets after the three occupants were identified as organized drug traffickers.

The suspects, two men and one woman, all from Surrey, were arrested and the vehicle was searched.

Officers recovered a significant amount of cash as well as drugs including fentanyl and cocaine.

A Community Services Division (CSD) officers trained in locating hidden vehicle compartments also assisted and police were able to find a hidden compartment behind the centre console of the vehicle.

Inside the compartment, behind the vehicle’s radio and temperature controls, officers found a loaded .45 calibre handgun.

Police say the firearm was easily accessible to the vehicle’s occupants from inside the hidden compartment.

Following the arrests, officers executed search warrants on two suites associated with the suspects at a hotel in the 700-block of Douglas Street.

Each suite contained evidence of drug trafficking, including fentanyl, cocaine, and cash. In total, the search yielded nearly $60,000 in cash, cocaine and fentanyl with an estimated street value of $50,000, and the loaded .45 calibre handgun.

VicPD say the investigation is part of a larger, months-long project stared in July aimed at organized crime and drug trafficking in Victoria and Esquimalt.

Police are recommending several drug trafficking-related charges against the three suspects from Surrey.