Red Deer RCMP have charged four local men with drug trafficking and firearm offenses following a months-long investigation that wrapped up with search warrants in late June. The investigation began in late 2025 when police got tips about a group selling drugs in the city. Officers say there is no ongoing risk to the public from this case.
On June 24, 2026, officers with the Red Deer RCMP General Investigation Section, along with the Crime Reduction Team and Traffic Services, searched two homes and two vehicles in Red Deer. They arrested four men and took two guns, ammunition, cocaine, cash, and other items tied to drug trafficking.
Three of the accused – aged 31, 36, and 38 – face charges of trafficking a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. The 36-year-old and 38-year-old also face extra firearms counts, including possession of a restricted firearm and unsafe storage. The 31-year-old man was released after a Judicial Interim Release hearing with conditions and is due in court on July 16, 2026. The other two remain in custody.
A fourth man, also 36, was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, two counts of possession of a restricted firearm, two counts of unsafe storage of a firearm, and six counts of possessing a firearm contrary to order. He stays in custody as well.
Constable Andrew Devine from the Red Deer RCMP said the work shows the detachment’s push to break up drug dealing in neighbourhoods. “Removing firearms from these environments reduces the risk of violence and improves public safety,” he added.
The charges come as drug enforcement numbers climb in Red Deer. In the first three months of 2026, drug possession charges more than doubled to 67, up from 32 in the same period last year. Trafficking charges rose eight per cent to 52 from 48. Police say the jump reflects more proactive enforcement, not necessarily more drug activity. Across Alberta, the RCMP’s Crime Reduction Strategy seized about $897,000 in drugs and 37 firearms in 2025, leading to 123 new firearm charges.
