As Prince Albert looks at wastewater testing to better understand local drug trends, the city’s police chief says new technology being developed in British Columbia could help law enforcement track where seized drugs come from and how they move across Canada.
Chief Patrick Nogier raised the issue Thursday during a Prince Albert Police Service media event on a major drug trafficking investigation that seized cocaine, methamphetamine, firearms and cash. He said police need better tools to understand not only what is being seized locally, but how those drugs connect to larger supply networks across Saskatchewan and beyond.
Together, the two discussions point to a broader shift in how Prince Albert may understand the drug problem. Wastewater data can show community-level substance trends, while police technology could help investigators connect seized drugs to trafficking networks.
Nogier said track and trace technology being developed through the University of British Columbia could allow police to identify illicit drugs at a molecular level and compare them with other seizures across the country.
“The track and trace technology that’s being developed out of the province of BC, more in particular the University of British Columbia, is technology that allows us at a molecular level to actually identify chemicals and substances that are found in illicit drugs,” Nogier said in an interview after the event.
Nogier compared the process to creating a unique fingerprint for an illicit drug. He said if a larger amount of cocaine was broken down into smaller packages, the technology could potentially help police determine whether a package seized in another community came from the same original source.
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
Cocaine, Methamphetamine, firearms and cash seized by Prince Albert police are displayed Thursday. Chief Patrick Nogier said new track and trace technology could eventually help police determine where seized drugs came from and how they moved across Canada.
“If you took that package off the street in Saskatoon, Weyburn, Estevan, Regina, Calgary, doesn’t matter where, and you tested it, you’d be able to determine that it came from that brick,” he said.
Nogier said the same idea could apply to chemicals used to produce drugs such as methamphetamine. He said that could help law enforcement draw connections between drugs, precursors, labs and trafficking networks.
The comments came after Prince Albert police announced the seizure of 2,767 grams of cocaine, 1,883 grams of methamphetamine, $72,900 in cash, two handguns and an air pistol. Police said the investigation involved Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Cumberland House.
Nogier said police across Saskatchewan are trying to keep their priorities consistent, including cocaine, methamphetamine, opioids, guns and organized crime. He said criminal activity does not stop at municipal boundaries, which means police need better ways to understand where drugs are coming from and how they are being distributed.
The discussion also connects with a recent city file involving wastewater drug surveillance.
Earlier this month, Prince Albert’s Executive Committee received a report recommending the city sign a memorandum of understanding with Health Canada to take part in the National Wastewater Drug Surveillance program.
According to the city report, the program would test wastewater for more than 550 drugs and drug-related metabolites, including new psychoactive substances, fentanyl analogues and precursor chemicals.
Jim Woodcock, the city’s Community Safety and Well-Being Coordinator, told committee the Health Canada program would be different from the Statistics Canada wastewater survey the city already participates in. He said the Health Canada program would show whether substances are present in wastewater, while the Statisticss Canada program tracks fewer substances but provides volume information.
Nogier said wastewater analysis is part of the larger picture.
“We’ve seen through wastewater analysis that we can get a true indication of what is happening in that community,” he said.
He said that information could help police and community partners decide whether more attention is needed on methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids or other substances.
“You combine that then with track and trace technology, you combine that then with mainstream investigations that come from law enforcement,” Nogier said. “Now you’re having more pieces of the puzzle that are coming together to try and identify and disrupt the impact of illicit drugs in our community.”
Mayor Bill Powalinsky said after the police event that Prince Albert should continue looking at new technology to support public safety work.
“They need the best technology, they need the feet on the ground,” Powalinsky said.
Powalinsky said the city already has some drone capacity, but he would like to see Prince Albert move further with technology that can support police work.
“PA is a perfect spot for piloting these types of things,” he said. “We’re small enough and yet effective enough that we would be perfect to test technologies.”
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
