Specialized RCMP units removed large quantities of drugs and firearms from communities across Saskatchewan in 2025 as part of efforts to combat organized crime and target high-risk offenders.
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According to the Saskatchewan RCMP, its Saskatchewan Enforcement Response Teams (SERT) seized approximately 60 kilograms of methamphetamine, 14 kilograms of cocaine and more than 120 firearms during enforcement activities last year. Officers also seized 357 grams of fentanyl, three kilograms of other drugs and 70 pharmaceutical-style tablets.
SERT is a provincewide network of specialized, intelligence-led police units that support frontline officers at RCMP detachments. The teams focus on individuals and criminal groups believed to be driving violence and drug trafficking in Saskatchewan communities.
The program includes five units: Crime Reduction Teams, the Human Trafficking and Counter Exploitation Unit, the Offender Management Unit, the Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team and the Warrant Enforcement Suppression Team. Together, the units are staffed by 106 RCMP officers and 27 public service and civilian employees based in 10 communities across the province.
Police said the teams deploy throughout Saskatchewan in response to emerging threats and often work with other police agencies and partners.
Among the notable investigations in 2025, officers conducted a traffic stop in May that led to the seizure of methamphetamine that field-tested positive for fentanyl contamination. Two adults were arrested and provincial partners with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health issued a public drug alert warning residents of the heightened risk in the area.
In October, SERT assisted Turtleford RCMP during a four-day operation that resulted in the arrest of 10 individuals wanted on outstanding warrants.
Later that month, officers executing a search warrant at a residence in North Battleford had a firearm pointed at them. Police arrested two men, seized five firearms and cocaine and laid 40 charges.
In December, a joint investigation involving SERT and the Prince Albert Police Service Crime Reduction Team led to the seizure of 3.9 kilograms of cocaine, 4.8 kilograms of methamphetamine and six firearms from a residence and vehicle in central Saskatchewan.
Police say investigations like these often cross detachment boundaries and jurisdictions, requiring collaboration between agencies.
In total, SERT units executed 765 arrest warrants in 2025 and conducted 375 search warrants. Officers also took part in 69 interprovincial investigations, made 1,048 arrests and laid 955 charges under the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
“Our specialized teams work hand-in-hand with frontline officers and community partners to target the individuals causing the most harm in Saskatchewan,” said Insp. Michelle Ireland, the officer in charge of SERT.
“Last year’s results show how that coordinated, intelligence-driven enforcement is making a real impact, removing dangerous drugs, firearms and high-risk offenders from communities throughout the province.”
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