Three men are facing charges after a six-month investigation by St. Albert RCMP led to a drug bust at a Sturgeon County home on June 11.
RCMP arrested a Sturgeon County man and two Edmonton men in the case, they said in a statement to media released on June 30.
Kurt Eric Lemke, 42, of Sturgeon County, was arrested and charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. He was released from custody and is set to appear in St. Albert Provincial Court on July 26.
Police seized 75.17 grams of methamphetamine; 53 litres of GHB; and 23 grams of fentanyl from the Sturgeon County home. They also recovered 27 kilograms of a buffing agent, $11,915 in Canadian currency, and ammunition.
In a statement to the media, Cst. MJ Burroughs wrote about the dangers of ingesting GHB. “(It) increases libido, suggestibility, passivity and can cause amnesia, and makes users vulnerable to sexual assault and criminal acts,” wrote Burroughs.
She added that, at bars or raves, GHB is typically sold in liquid form by the capful or swig at $5 to $25 per cap. The value of GHB seized, if sold in millilitre quantities at $10 per teaspoonful/capful, equals $106,000.
Stephen Andreas Hesmert, 30, of Edmonton was also arrested and charged with three counts of trafficking a controlled substance, three counts of possession of stolen property, and two counts of failure to comply with conditions of release. He is set to appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on July 6.
Corbin Matthew Ross, 32, of Edmonton, was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of possession of a controlled substance, and two counts of proceeds of a crime. Ross was released from custody on bail and is set to appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on July 14.
