By Sheldon Spackman

three men charged

Trial dates set for largest fentanyl bust in Red Deer history

Mar 4, 2021 | 11:34 AM

Trial dates have now been set for three men charged in what was described by police at the time as the largest fentanyl seizure in Red Deer’s history.

Raymond Brown, 27, George Deighton, 27, and Henry Ruttle, 26, are all scheduled for trial in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench from Feb. 14 – Mar. 4, 2022.

The trio face a combined 22 counts, with the accused set to challenge various warrants granted to police for searches of residences related the alleged offence dates. Those challenges will be heard Jan. 31 – Feb. 4, 2022, in advance of the trial.

According to RCMP, between Aug. 13 – 28, 2019, police conducted an investigation into an alleged drug trafficking operation in Red Deer. On Aug. 28, search warrants were executed at three properties in the city.

As a result of the searches, officers seized:

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• 1,009 grams of cocaine
• 429 grams of methamphetamine
• 3,521 fentanyl tablets, weighing in excess of 2.1 kilograms
• 681 grams of cutting agent
• 360 grams of an unconfirmed substance
• $82,075 in Canadian currency
• Five vehicles
  (rdnewsNOW / Sheldon Spackman)

“This is an extremely significant drug seizure for our community,” Red Deer RCMP Supt. Gerald Grobmeier said at the time of the arrests. “Through this investigation, we have disrupted the flow of dangerous and illicit drugs in our community. And let this serve as a reminder to traffickers in our community — that we will continue to work tirelessly to root out this illegal activity.”