RCMP have charged three men from Edmonton with drug trafficking after they tried to enter the NWT at the Alberta border.
The trio had tried to cross the border on April 28 but were turned away by GNWT employees because they didn't meet the criteria for entry as stipulated by the chief public health officer, RCMP said in a news release on Friday.
The employees contacted the RCMP as they were suspicious of the men's intentions.
Members of the NT RCMP’s Federal Investigations Unit, Traffic Services and Police Dog Services stopped the 2017 Chevrolet Colorado Truck between the checkstop and the border.
Police formed grounds to arrest the men and after searching the truck they found about 194 grams of cocaine and 78 grams of Cathinone (Khat).
Their truck was seized as offence related property "as it was allegedly used as a conveyance to bring drugs into the NWT," the release said.
Mohammed Hamza Mahmood, 27, Ismail Hassan Farah, 24, and Farah Ahmed Aden, 23 were charged with possession and trafficking of the substances and obstructing a peace officer.
They were brought before a Justice of the Peace for a hearing. Mahmood and Aden were released from custody with conditions and will appear in court on Sept. 8. They have been escorted out of the NWT.
Farah had already been wanted on warrants issued by the Fort Simpson RCMP for drug trafficking related offences, and on warrants from police in Edmonton. He remains in custody.
Members of the public with information on suspicious activity can call Yellowknife RCMP at 669-1111, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 nwtnutips.com, (click on "submit a web tip") or text: “nwtnutips” with the message to 274637.