A 53-year-old Lethbridge man is one of five people charged in connection to a multi-year drug trafficking investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team.
According to police the investigation, named Project Flip, started in the fall of 2021 and has resulted in the seizure of almost a quarter million dollars worth of drugs and cash. In Fort McMurray, the ALERT organized crime team seized a significant amount of cocaine and suspected buffing agents, along with roughly $30,000 in cash. Throughout the investigation police also seized smaller amounts of meth, MDMA, ketamine, and illicit Xanax.
ALERT Fort McMurray Sargent, Mark Wait, says the investigation is a positive example of how an investigation can be worked from the ground up, after starting with Wood Buffalo RCMP investigating street-level drug sales.
“We were able to work with the Wood Buffalo RCMP detachment to target street-level dealers, and from there built a successful investigation that toppled the network and supply.”
Martin Spiegelberg is facing charges for conspiracy to traffic drugs and drug trafficking, along with a 25-year-old Kelowna man, two people in their 20s from Edmonton, and a 27 man from Fort McMurray. According to officials, all five alleged suspects have been released from custody.
