Two men are facing numerous drug charges following a joint Altona Police Service and Canada Border Services Agency investigation.

On March 1, 2017 members of APS and CBSA entered into Project Southbend. According to a news release, CBSA had information regarding attempted shipments of illegal drugs to a residence in Altona. This discovery, along with information that APS had already obtained on that same address, caused the two law enforcement agencies to come together.

In the early evening of April 10, the Regional Support Tactical Team along with APS officers and members of the CBSA, executed a search warrant at the home. $18,000 in drugs and cash were seized in the raid.

One adult male from Altona has been charged with several counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking. A Gretna man has been charged with Impaired Operation of A Motor Vehicle and Trafficking. Both were released from

Submitted photo. The latest drug bust yieled Marijuana-laced cake pops, Shatter and a new susbtance called Kratomcustody for a future court date. The investigation is ongoing and more charges are anticipated.

Meantime, among the drugs discovered during the bust was Kratom, a substance that comes from Asia and is the ground-up roots and leaves of a certain plant. The powder is then mixed with various food and drinks and, when consumed in high quantities, investigators say it provides a euphoric high.

Last week's bust is actually the first time that Altona Police officers encountered Kratom and, in fact, it is quite unknown to most police agencies in Manitoba, including the RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service. It is currently an uncontrolled substance and does not fall under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in Canada. This designation however changes from country-to-country around the world.

"That's exactly where many people in the drug sub-culture go to find the new hallucinogenics," explains Batchelor, adding "It's an absolute drug."

This latest bust is being billed as one of the largest to unfold in Altona and while the street value of the drugs seized isn't huge, about $5,600, Chief Batchelor is concerned with the variety of substances and the apartment's close proximity to the local high school. He specifically pointed to the edible drug products that were seized, such as cake pops.

"You could be walking around in your high school eating one of these cake pops, getting high, and no teacher would be the wiser."

Also taken in the bust were envelopes of Shatter, a derivative of marijuana, in a variety of flavours like chocolate and lemon.

Along with the seized MDMA, Xanax and other unmarked pills were clean pill capsules and scales that measure into the micrograms.

"So what they were doing is they were shipping this stuff in...and they're actually pre-measuring it and distributing it that way...they're producing it in-house," explained one of the investigators. "It was an entire storefront that we came across...and judging by the quantity of cash that we did seize, it was a lucrative business."

Turns out the pills that officers found are counterfeit, meaning they are being shipped into Canada - into Altona - from somewhere else in the world. The concern here is that dealers can't be entirely confident that the product they received is what they ordered, therefore the local buyer also can't be certain of what they are purchasing. Officers say they are worried that the lethal drug, Fentanyl, could be laced inside these other substances.

Investigators are still waiting to hear back from the lab on a few other substances found at the scene, to learn what they are. "We found new stuff, but that's what happens when you're getting stuff from overseas."

Chief Batchelor says this bust is sure to send shockwaves throughout the drug scene in the area, noting this operation wasn't just centred around Altona clientele.

"...We know there's people from other communities that have been shopping at this store"

And while officers are pleased to have taken these drugs off the streets, Batchelor says they know there is more work to do and they will continue to pluck away at it, noting there are ways that the public can help police in this task. If you happen to notice frequent, short-term traffic at a home, or movement at odd hours of the night, it might be an indication of something more is happening. A spike in crime, such as vehicle break-ins, is also a good indicator that something isn't right.  It's these tell-tale signs that tell police to further look into what is going on.