Randal Omeasso faces drug trafficking and weapons charges.

MASKWACIS, Alta. — A 34-year-old Wetaskiwin man is in custody facing more than a dozen charges after a targeted traffic stop by the Alberta RCMP’s newly formed Rural Organized Crime Team uncovered drugs and a cache of firearms — including two loaded homemade shotguns and a sawed-off rifle.

Randal Omeasso was arrested on June 20 following a traffic stop conducted by the Alberta RCMP Rural Organized Crime Team (ROCT) during suppression patrols in Maskwacis, about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton. The stop led to an investigation under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, with assistance from Maskwacis RCMP.

Police seized six grams of suspected fentanyl, three grams of suspected cocaine, a sawed-off rifle, two loaded homemade shotguns, and a .22-caliber magazine.

Omeasso has been charged with 15 offences, including possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine and fentanyl, careless use of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and multiple counts of possession contrary to a court order and unauthorized possession in a motor vehicle.

He was held for a Judicial Interim Release hearing and remanded into custody. Omeasso is scheduled to appear in the Alberta Court of Justice in Wetaskiwin on June 23.

The arrest comes less than a month after the Government of Alberta announced an $8-million funding boost for law enforcement to combat organized crime, with the Alberta RCMP receiving $2 million to establish ROCT — a mobile unit of specialized officers focused on gang activity and violence linked to drug and firearms offences.

The team deploys to communities experiencing the highest levels of crime, using data-driven intelligence to identify and target priority offenders causing the greatest harm.

Alberta RCMP ROCT is having an impact in Alberta communities everyday, said RCMP in a news release.

While the unit has a specific mandate, it will be reinforced by the RCMP’s network of specialized units and resources to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle organized criminal activity, and will work alongside municipal police partners, provincial agencies, and community stakeholders.

Anyone with information regarding crime in Maskwacis is asked to contact Maskwacis RCMP at 780-585-3767, or remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.P3Tips.com.