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Gang members arrested

Police say a member of the B.C.-based Red Scorpions gang and three associate members have been arrested in central and southern Alberta.

CTV Vancouver is reporting that search warrants executed in Airdrie, Red Deer and Calgary last week focused on the gang's drug-trafficking operation and its infiltration of the Alberta market.

Police say firearms and drugs were seized.

They include a loaded semi-automatic handgun, a stolen shotgun with ammunition, an illegal cocaine lab and various illegal narcotics.

The Red Deer RCMP, the Airdrie RCMP, Calgary Police Services and the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) were all involved in the investigation.

The Red Scorpions gang is alleged to have been involved in the mass shooting of six people in a highrise condo in Surrey, B.C., in October 2007.

A verdict in that case is expected in October.

Cory James Lesperance, 29 and originally from British Columbia, is alleged to be at the centre of the drug-trafficking network in Alberta. He was arrested at a home just outside Red Deer and faces a total of 14 drug- and weapons-related charges.

Three people police describe as Red Scorpions associates were arrested in Airdrie and Calgary. Robin Joseph Stewart, 52, faces eight charges; Nicholas David James White, 21, faces six charges; and Amber McLeod, 23, faces four charges.

Police say there may be additional charges and arrests.

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