Kingston Police credit ‘keen-eyed officer’ after three people arrested for drug trafficking, obstructing police

Three people from Kingston are facing multiple charges after a Kingston Police sergeant working general patrol “observed multiple individuals working in and around two vehicles” in a parking lot off of Montreal Street near Belle Park.

According to police, the sergeant made the observation at approximately 2:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Jun. 14, 2022, at the parking lot of the Integrated Care Hub (ICH), and recognized one of the individuals in question from having had previous interactions with the person. After making a query, the sergeant learned there was currently a warrant for the arrest of that person. Police also said that the sergeant, while exiting the police cruiser, was able to identify another of the individuals in question, also from previous interactions.

Police said two of the accused individuals were standing outside a truck, and the third accused person was inside that vehicle. Additionally, a small car on a dolly was attached to the parked pickup truck, according to police.

“The first accused party, who was standing by the passenger side of the vehicle, was observed by the police sergeant attempting to conceal something down the front of their pants. Police detained the first accused party, and a container was discovered in their waistband, which contained a large quantity of a substance suspected of being fentanyl. The first accused party was subsequently arrested and taken into custody,” Kingston Police said in a press release later the same day.

“Police attempted to speak with the second accused party, who had been working on the vehicle, and they provided a false name to the officer. Further investigation revealed their true identity and this individual, who was also wanted on an outstanding warrant, was subsequently arrested for obstructing the police investigation.”

After searching the passenger’s side of the vehicle, police discovered a shopping bag on the floor, which contained a quantity of a substance believed to be fentanyl, along with a digital scale and a “large quantity of Canadian currency,” police said. Beside that bag, police continued, was a purse belonging to the third accused person, which also contained “a quantity of a substance suspected of being fentanyl, and a quantity of Canadian currency. The third accused person was then arrested and taken into custody.

All three people were transported to Kingston Police Headquarters, where they were held to attend a later bail hearing.

As a result, the first accused person, a 32-year-old from Kingston, was charged with:

• Possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking
• Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000
• Three counts of breach of probation

The second accused person, a 34-year-old from Kingston, was charged with:

• Obstructing a peace officer

The third accused party, also a 34-year-old from Kingston, was charged with:

• Possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking
• Proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000