2021-02-03

Trio faces cocaine charges following traffic stop, searches

A woman and two men from Lunenburg County face drug charges after police conducted a targeted traffic stop and searched a local apartment.

Authorities, including a specialized police unit that deals with significant drug investigations, pulled over a Ford Focus in a Bridgewater mall parking lot January 20. Town residents, a 31-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man, were arrested without incident.

The man is expected to be charged with possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, Scott Feener, the chief of the Bridgewater Police Service, told LighthouseNOW during a recent interview.

But the woman is facing allegations of possessing cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, along with unlawful possession of cannabis, and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Around the same time the occupants of the compact car were taken into custody, officers raided a room at the Bridgewater Hotel, on the other side of town. There, a 36-year-old Lunenburg County man was arrested and faces charges of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and breaching a court order. A woman was also arrested at the High Street hotel but was released without charges. Feener doesn't expect she'll be charged with any crimes connected to the raid.

Feener didn't know how much methamphetamine, cocaine or marijuana was seized as a result of searches of the vehicle and residence.

Cash, unidentified pills and a prohibited knife were also found during the investigation. The pills are being tested, and there will be checks against prescription records.

No one was hurt during the operation and all suspects were arrested without incident, said Feener.

"It was pre-planned, and executed with officer safety and public safety kept at the highest regard."

The investigation isn't part of a larger scale probe that could involve more agencies but is one that involved the use of confidential source information, he said.

No other arrests are expected but more charges could be filed against the three suspects, who are due to be arraigned in April in Bridgewater Provincial Court.