Members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit conducted a three day blitz across parts of Vancouver Island earlier in March, focusing on those in the local drug trade. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

local drug trade

Three arrested in Nanaimo, part of gang enforcement blitz on Vancouver Island

Mar 20, 2025 | 12:12 PM

NANAIMO — Three people were arrested locally, with more elsewhere on Vancouver Island, through a multi-day blitz from a specialized policing unit.

Members with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team (UGET) conducted a traffic stop on March 7 around the Strickland St. and Robins St. intersection in south Nanaimo.

One of the people in the car was known to police and had multiple warrants for their arrest, while officers also seized “large amounts of pre-packaged drugs, scales and cash” according to a release from the unit.

The following day, a second traffic stop on Townsite Rd., near Millstone Ave. saw another arrest made.

The driver of a vehicle was arrested for possession for the purposes of trafficking, with again, a “large bag of prepackaged drugs and cash” seized.

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A final traffic stop during the blitz occurred later in the day near the Value Lodge Motel on Nicol St., with the driver identified as having an arrest warrant from Coquitlam.

They were all taken into custody.

Similar arrests were made in Langford over the three days, with Cpl. Sarbjit Sangha, spokesperson for the unit, telling NanaimoNewsNOW they’re deployed to areas on a priority basis.

“Our uniformed team is assigned to different parts of B.C. depending on where we see if there’s a rise in gang violence, whether it’s a shooting or any type that requires more assistance from us, we work with all our municipal partners.”

Several other traffic stops were conducted with “well-known drug traffickers including individuals who were local to the area, as well as others from out of town”, according to the Unit, but no arrests were made.

Sangha added police were specifically looking for people known to be involved in the drug trade or gang activity.

“Officers are trained to look for evidence that would give them grounds to pull somebody over. It may start with a traffic infraction, or it could be officers saw something that was suspicious, they have reasonable grounds to believe that this person was involved in something that was illegal and they were able to pull them over and conduct a traffic stop.”

She added investigations into the three arrested in Nanaimo continue, but was unable to provide specifics on whether any remained in custody.

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