On July 17, Grande Prairie RCMP Drug Section, with assistance from the Grande Prairie RCMP Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) and Grande Prairie Rural CRU, executed a search warrant at a duplex in the Scenic Ridge neighbourhood in Grande Prairie.
As a result of the search warrant, the following was seized:
- 900 grams of suspected cocaine;
- 100 grams of suspected mushrooms;
- 11 firearms;
- 3 prohibited firearms; 2 were loaded.
- Materials consistent with drug trafficking;
- Over 15,000 rounds of ammunition;
- 4 prohibited devices;
- 16,000 contraband cigarettes.
Michael Lutgen (50), and Alexandra Lutgen (36), both residents of Grande Prairie, have been charged with 17 offences, some of which include the following:
- Trafficking in a controlled substance (x2)
- Possession of stolen property
- Careless use or storage of a firearm
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm
- Fraud
After a Judicial Interim Release Hearing, both were released on conditions to appear in Alberta Court of Justice in Grande Prairie on July 28.
“The combination of drugs and firearms is a bad mix for any community and we are thankful that as a result of this investigation, those drugs are firearms are no longer on the streets of Grande Prairie,” said Cst. Satbir Sall. “Grande Prairie RCMP remains fully committed in building safer communities by working in partnership with our community, as well as through investigative and enforcement efforts, to achieve this goal.”
