Police in Calgary, U.S. worked together to dismantle international drug cartel

Inter-agency cooperation on both sides of the border was key in bringing down a prolific international Calgary-based drug cartel.

And police credit the swift arrest in a 2017 double-homicide with the ongoing investigation dubbed Project Arbour — the ALERT-led investigation into the meth and cannabis trafficking enterprise.

The year-log operation began after a routine traffic stop in Provo, Utah in Oct. 2016 uncovered 100 kilograms of methamphetamine in the back of a pickup truck, and landed three Calgary men in custody, said Supt. Chad Coles of ALERT — the Canada Law Enforcement Response Team.

Coles, joined by representatives from the Calgary Police Service and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, gave details of the investigation to media at a Thursday morning press conference.

Project Arbour also led police to charge 26-year-old Blais Delaire, accused of providing the weapon used in last June’s double-homicide of Colin Reitberger and Anees Amr — shot to death in a busy parking lot of a southeast Calgary supermarket.

Facing charges as part of Project Arbour are Drew Mann, 25, Matthew Spiers, 24,  Bryan Livingston, 32, Blais Delaire, 26, and accused ringleader Allistair Chapman, 25.

More to come….