St. Albert Mounties nabbed a third dial-a-doper earlier this month, and this one was dealing in cocaine.
St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Laurel Kading announced Wednesday that police had arrested a man in St. Albert on Aug. 5 for attempting to sell cocaine in the city. The Edmonton man had been engaged in a “dial-a-dope” scheme where dealers use cellphones to arrange drug sales to clients.
Police seized about 14 grams of cocaine from a man (enough for 130 doses of the drug) as well as a cellphone and a “substantial” amount of cash.
“Definitely more than you’d usually have in your pocket,” Kading explained.
Kading had little other information she could share about the arrest, but said it happened without incident. She confirmed that the arrest was not connected to the arrest of two other dial-a-dope suspects in St. Albert that same day.
Dial-a-dope crimes have been around pretty much since the advent of the mobile phone, and are common around major urban centres, said Cpl. Hal Turnbull of the RCMP’s K Division headquarters.
“It has to do with supply and demand.”
Operations can be as simple as one person with some drugs to organized networks of dealers working the same phone in shifts, Turnbull said. Many dealers will use “burner” phones bought at convenience stores, as they’re cheap, disposable, and tougher to trace, and will conduct their transactions in parking lots.
Turnbull advised residents to watch for cars that frequent parking lots at odd hours for short time periods, especially if there seem to be a lot of people entering and leaving the vehicles. This could be a sign of a dial-a-doper in your area.
Also known as C, rock, snow, coke and blow, cocaine is a highly addictive illegal stimulant made from the leaves of the South American coca bush that takes the form of a fine white powder that can be snorted or injected, Health Canada reports. When melted and compressed into rocks so it can be smoked, it is known as crack.
Cocaine produces a short-term feeling of happiness and alertness, but is also highly addictive and illegal, as it can cause vomiting, dizziness, violence, depression, collapsed lungs, impotence, miscarriage, seizures and strokes. Turnbull noted that cocaine also creates spinoff crimes as addicts steal to feed their addictions.
Kading encouraged residents to reduce the demand for illegal drugs such as cocaine by talking with family members about the risks and reporting dealers to police. Addicts who want help should seek counselling through Alberta Health Services.
Rakhita Jayawardana, 29, of Edmonton has been charged with one count each of drug trafficking, possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking, and possession of property obtained by criminal activity. He has been released on $500 bail and is set to appear in St. Albert Provincial Court on Sept. 19.
Tips on drug trafficking in St. Albert should go to the St. Albert RCMP Drug Tip Line at 780-460-3784 (DRUG) or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
