REGINA – A man arrested in a major drug bust that spanned Western Canada has been sentenced in Regina Court of King's Bench to nine years in prison.
Nikola Galic, 27, of Burnaby, BC, was arrested in May 2023 after the RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) unit in Saskatchewan led a joint investigation with Regina Police Service, investigating a sophisticated drug trafficking operation.
Galic was the primary focus of the drug trafficking operation, which RCMP say involved transporting cocaine and methamphetamine, at the kilogram level, from BC to various parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
According to Saskatchewan RCMP, Galic was convicted March 20 on drug trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime, and conspiracy to commit the indictable offence of trafficking a controlled substance of possession property obtained by crime over $5,000.
“It goes without saying that it is incredibly important to arrest and charge those dealing drugs on the street level,” said Staff Sergeant Richard Pickering, the Acting Officer in Charge of RCMP’s Federal Operations in Saskatchewan. “However, when you can arrest those that lead large trafficking operations – it truly dismantles and disrupts dangerous, illicit drugs coming into Saskatchewan and other provinces for the long run.
“I am incredibly proud of the joint investigation and collaboration with our FSOC investigators, partner police agencies, and everyone else that worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a conviction could be brought to fruition – without them, we couldn’t take these dangerous individuals out of our communities,” added Pickering.
The police operation involved 17 police services including Regina Police Service, Regina Integrated Intelligence Unit, Weyburn Police Service, Vancouver Police Department, Moose Jaw Police Service, “E” Division Federal and Serious Organized Crime, “K” Division Federal and Serious Organized Crime, Burnaby RCMP Drug Section, Burnaby RCMP Detachment, “G” Division Federal Arctic Unit, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, and Correctional Service Canada.
Additional support was provided by specialized Saskatchewan RCMP units including Moose Jaw RCMP Crime Reduction Team, Swift Current RCMP Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team (STRT), White Butte RCMP Detachment, Saskatchewan RCMP’s Criminal Analytical Sections, and RCMP Special Investigations Section.
Ten people were arrested after six search warrants were executed May 11 and 12, 2023, in Weyburn, Moose Jaw, Vancouver, and Burnaby. There were 54 Criminal Code and CDSA charges laid.
From the drug flow interruption, police seized 3.36 kg of MDMA, 8.95 kg of cocaine, and 28.17 kg of methamphetamine.
"The cocaine seized has been tested and resulted in purity levels as high as 97 per cent," said Saskatchewan RCMP previously in a media release. "This seizure will disrupt the supply of illicit, lethal drugs destined for distribution across Canada – particularly Saskatchewan."
The FSOC targets the most serious criminal threats to Canadians – including national security, transnational serious and organized crime, and cybercrime. Federal Policing is a core responsibility of the RCMP that is carried out in every province and territory in Canada, as well as internationally. This priority focuses on criminal activities that cross international and/or provincial borders, carried out by organizations, networks, or entities.
Getting drugs off the streets is a priority for police services. If members of the public want to share information on drug trafficking, they can report it to their local police service, or through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS)
-With files from Ryan Kiedrowski
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