Five Kamloops-area residents are facing numerous charges after an inter-agency investigation that took nearly two years.

In April 2020, the RCMP say the Kamloops Targeted Enforcement Unit began investigating suspects who were reportedly dealing small amounts of drugs on the street.

“The [TEU] was able to follow their trail and identify those responsible for transporting large quantities of controlled substances into the community,” Sgt. Todd Woon of Kamloops RCMP said, in a statement released Wednesday.

He says in July of 2020, police searched a house on the 600-block of Comox Avenue on the North Shore, where they found and seized cocaine, fentanyl, and a loaded prohibited firearm. That, police say, led to the identification of a suspected drug supplier in New Westminster, who was believed to be responsible for bringing the drugs to Kamloops.

A month later, in August 2020, a Cherry Creek man was arrested near Kamloops with more than one kilogram of cocaine, as a result of the joint effort between Kamloops RCMP and the New Westminster Police Department.

Another Kamloops man was arrested in September that year as he returned from New Westminster. Police say two kilograms of cocaine were seized from his vehicle, while two kilos of methamphetamine and one kilo of cocaine was seized from his property on the 1300-block of Kinross Place in Aberdeen.

Police say they also seized “smaller quantities of controlled substances” from another property in the 100-block of Holloway Drive in Tobiano.

“The impact of stopping those drugs from ever hitting the streets of Kamloops is immeasurable,” Woon added. “Interrupting the supply chains into Kamloops helps prevent organized crime from developing a strong presence and increasing violence in the community.”

That same month, police in New Westminster say they seized approximately 13 kg of cocaine, 10 kg of methamphetamine, two handguns, and about $300,000 from a New Westminster house after they continued their investigation into the suspected supplier who was identified by the Kamloops TEU.

Lawrence Lloyd Pooli, 31, of Kamloops, is charged with one count of possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of ammunition while prohibited.

David Jeffrey Tremblay, 36, of Kamloops, is charged with one count each of possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking; possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, to wit a .22 LR calibre Savage model A22 semi-automatic rifle, without being the holder of an authorization or license under which to possess the firearm and a registration certification for the firearm; storing said prohibited firearm in a careless manner; and breach of firearms prohibition.

Rylee Laureen Bains, 24, of Kamloops, is charged with one count each of possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking; possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, to wit a .22 LR calibre Savage model A22 semi-automatic rifle, without being the holder of an authorization or license under which to possess the firearm and a registration certification for the firearm; and storing said prohibited firearm in a careless manner.

Jason Ray Sauka, 50, of Cherry Creek, is charged with one count of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Roberto Silio Lupi, 36, of Kamloops, is charged with two counts of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and one count of possession of meth for the purpose of trafficking.