On Saturday August 22, at approximately 9 a.m., Wollaston Lake RCMP received information that a local resident was returning to Wollaston Lake on a private boat with alcohol intended for resale in the area.
While police officers were waiting on the shore of the lake to intercept the boat as it arrived, they saw the boat approaching the shore but abruptly turning away and going back to the lake. The boat went in the direction of Jackpine Island for approximately 30 minutes. When the boat finally came back and arrived at the dock, police searched the boat and its four occupants but did not locate any alcohol.
Within the next hour, Wollaston Lake RCMP went with a boat to the Jackpine Island area and searched a small island northeast of Jackpine Island. On this small island, police officers located three bags containing 33 bottles of hard liquor as well as evidence that the alcohol belonged to the Wollaston Lake resident.
The alcohol was seized and the Wollaston Lake resident was charged with selling or offering to sell, display or keep beverage alcohol under Section 138(1) of the Saskatchewan Alcohol and Gaming Regulations Act (AGRA).
Following this seizure, Wollaston Lake RCMP received multiple calls on the same day informing them of other people transporting alcohol to Wollaston Lake for resale. These calls allowed Wollaston Lake RCMP to intercept the two additional following shipments of alcohol intended for resale in the area.
Later that day, at approximately 7:45 p.m., Wollaston Lake RCMP followed a private boat on Wollaston Lake until it arrived to the shore. Police officers then searched the boat and located 12 bottles of hard liquor and over 60 bottles and cans of wine, beers and coolers.
The alcohol was seized and the occupant of the boat, a resident of Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation, was charged with selling or offering to sell, display or keep beverage alcohol under Section 138(1) of the Saskatchewan Alcohol and Gaming Regulations Act (AGRA).
The next day, on August 23, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Wollaston Lake RCMP searched the commercial barge that connects, during the summer, the Wollaston Lake settlement on the eastern side of the lake to Highway 905 on the western side of the lake. Police officers found 8 bottles of hard liquor hidden in a package intended for delivery.
The two local residents who were charged are scheduled to appear in court at the Wollaston Lake Provincial Court on November 25, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
Wollaston RCMP would like to thank the public for their much-appreciated help and to note the importance of the tips provided by the public to help Wollaston RCMP intercept the delivery of alcohol intended for resale in the Wollaston area.
Anyone interested in sharing tips about the introduction and reselling of alcohol in the Wollaston Lake area is welcome to call Wollaston RCMP at 306-663-1200.
This is the second weekend in a row that Wollaston RCMP seizes substantial amounts of alcohol on the lake.
The four incidents are not connected.
Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation is a dry community located on each side of the Welcome Bay in Wollaston Lake. Its neighbour, the Wollaston Lake Settlement is located between the two portions of the Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation, on the western shore of the Bay.