Starting in March 2022, the RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) unit in Saskatchewan led a joint investigation with Regina Police Service, investigating a sophisticated drug trafficking operation that implicated multiple individuals – spanning across Western Canada.
The operation involved transporting illicit drugs (cocaine and methamphetamine), at the kilogram level, from British Columbia to various parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The primary focus of the investigation, 27-year-old Nikola Galic from Burnaby, BC, was convicted of the below charges on March 20, 2024:
- One count of trafficking in a controlled substance, Section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act;
- One count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, Section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act;
- One count of possession of property obtained by crime, Section 354(1) and 355(a) of the Criminal Code;
- One count of conspiracy to commit the indictable offence of trafficking a controlled substance, Section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code;
- One count of conspiracy to commit the indictable offence of possessing property obtained by crime over $5000.00, Section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code.
Public Prosecution Service of Canada negotiated a 9-year sentence which was accepted by the Court of King's Bench.
"It goes without saying that it is incredibly important to arrest and charge those dealing drugs on the street level. However, when you can arrest those that lead large trafficking operations – it truly dismantles and disrupts dangerous, illicit drugs coming into Saskatchewan and other provinces for the long run. I am incredibly proud of the joint investigation and collaboration with our FSOC investigators, partner police agencies, and everyone else that worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a conviction could be brought to fruition – without them, we couldn't take these dangerous individuals out of our communities," said Staff Sergeant Richard Pickering, the Acting Officer in Charge of RCMP's Federal Operations in Saskatchewan.
About Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC): Federal Policing targets the most serious criminal threats to Canadians – including national security, transnational serious and organized crime, and cybercrime. Federal Policing is a core responsibility of the RCMP that is carried out in every province and territory in Canada, as well as internationally. This priority focuses on criminal activities that cross international and/or provincial borders, carried out by organizations, networks, or entities.