Ontario man charged in N.S. drug bust tied to motorcycle gang case

RCMP in Nova Scotia charged an Ontario man after seizing cocaine, a modified firearm and cash during a traffic stop earlier this month.

Mounties say they received information from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) about a suspect linked to a drug investigation involving an outlaw motorcycle gang in St. Catharines, Ont., a city near Niagara Falls.

The suspect was believed to be travelling to Nova Scotia in a black Kia Sorento, a press release reads.

On the morning of April 5, officers with Cumberland RCMP located the suspect vehicle on Highway 104 near Amherst and conducted a stop. Police say they seized five kilograms of cocaine, a firearm modified to resemble an AK-47 and cash.

“The quick action of frontline officers in Cumberland was instrumental to ensuring the cocaine and firearm didn’t reach our communities,” Supt. Dave Chubbs, Eastern Region Federal Policing (Nova Scotia), said.

Scott Rempel, 37, is facing multiple charges, including possession for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine) and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

He was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in Amherst provincial court on April 25.

“It takes national collaboration across jurisdictions to disrupt drug trafficking networks and protect our respective communities,” Detective Insp. Scott Wade, OPP Biker Enforcement Unit, said.

Part of a bigger operation: 101 kilograms of cocaine

This traffic stop and arrest of Rempel was a part of a much larger investigation in Ontario.

In a separate press release, the province’s provincial police force said that officers seized more than 100 kilograms of suspected cocaine and arrested four people after a three-month probe.

Officials worked with Ontario police forces across the province and found that the outlaw motorcycle gang was shipping drugs throughout the area and into the east coast.

That’s where RCMP stepped in and arrested Rempel.

The drugs taken in this bust have an estimated street value of $10.1 million, police said.

“While the majority of motorcycle enthusiasts are law-abiding, (outlaw motorcycle gangs) are criminal organizations whose activities cause harm and victimization in communities…Have been known to participate in illegal, profit-driven activities such as fraud, drug trafficking, extortion, intimidation, and murder,” a press release notes.