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Five people charged after lengthy probe into Kamloops drug ring, police say

Five charged in drug ring

Five Kamloops-area residents are facing serious drug- and gun-related charges following a lengthy investigation involving Mounties in the city and police in New Westminster — a probe that began in April of 2020.

According to police, the probe began as an investigation into street-level drug dealing and led to a number of seizures.

In July of 2020, Mounties said they seized cocaine, fentanyl and a loaded gun from a house in the 600-block of Comox Avenue. The next month, a Cherry Creek man was arrested near Kamloops with more than a kilo of cocaine.

In September of 2020, police said, a Kamloops man was arrested as he returned from New Westminster, bringing with him two kilograms of cocaine. Two kilograms of meth were allegedly later found inside his house on Kinross Place in Aberdeen.

A subsequent search of a home in New Westminster turned up 13 kilograms of cocaine, 10 kilograms of meth, two handguns and approximately $300,000 in cash, Mounties said.

Lawrence Lloyd Pooli, 31, David Jeffrey Tremblay, 36, Rylee Laureen Bains, 24, Jason Ray Sauka, 50, and Roberto Silio Lupi, 36, are facing charges relating to the investigation. Each of the accused are from Kamloops, police said, except for Sauka, who lives in Cherry Creek.

Pooli is facing one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of ammunition while prohibited.

Tremblay and Bains are each facing one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking and a number of firearms charges.

Sauka is facing one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking. Lupi is facing three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.



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