(supplied/ Wetaskiwin RCMP)

By rdnewsNOW staff

arrest made in ponoka

Multiple units collaborate to catch violent offender in Ponoka

Aug 6, 2025 | 5:54 PM

Three arrests have been made following an incident in central Alberta at the end of July.

Wetaskiwin RCMP say they and multiple other units arrested Beaver County resident Aaron James Olsen, 42, whom they described as a known violent priority offender, and two others.

The arrests came after officers observed a man on July 30 allegedly trafficking controlled substances in a vehicle at a property in Ponoka.

Police stopped the man and arrested him, as well as the passenger of the vehicle.

“The collaborative efforts between multiple RCMP specialized teams has led to the successful arrest of a violent priority offender and the disruption of drug trafficking activities in central Alberta. The targeted enforcement operation, involving the Wetaskiwin Crime Reduction Unit, Central Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit (CAD CRU), K Air Services, Emergency Response Team, Ponoka RCMP, K RTOC and Police Dog Services, resulted in multiple arrests, seizures of illegal drugs, cash and a firearm,” said Cst. Tom Rutland in a media release.

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Olsen was wanted by police on two counts of assaulting a police officer, two counts of resisting arrest, flight from police, mischief, and possession of a controlled substance.

After authorities searched his vehicle, they seized multiple items including $6,850 in currency, 90 grams fentanyl, 112 grams of cocaine, 149 grams of methamphetamine, and a firearm.

They then searched a residence in Ponoka and seized $1,360 in currency, 20 grams of methamphetamine, drug trafficking materials including scales and baggies, Brass knuckles and ammunition.

On top of his warrants, Olsen was also charged with three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance; three counts of weapons offences; possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000; and three counts of possession of a weapon contrary to order.

He was taken before a Justice of the Peace and remanded into custody. He appeared at the Alberta Court of Justice in Ponoka on Aug. 1.

Police also charged 29-year-old Drayton Valley resident, Paige Tamara Ziegler, who was the passenger of the vehicle, with three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance and three counts of weapons offences.

Ziegler was taken before a Justice of the Peace and remanded into custody. She also appeared at the Alberta Court of Justice in Ponoka on Aug. 1.

Thirdly, the occupant of the Ponoka residence, 45-year-old Lauren Elliot Curtis, was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.

Curtis was taken before a Justice of the Peace and released with his next court date set for Aug. 22, 2025, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Ponoka.