$250K worth of drugs seized

Photo: CTV

Victoria police show off a haul of drugs seized from a home in Saanich last month. May 8, 2014. (Handout)

Police have collared two alleged gangsters from Metro Vancouver accused of leaving the mainland to set up a major drug operation in a Victoria suburb.

Arash Younus and Dustin Wadsworth moved to Vancouver Island in March and promptly drew the attention of local police, who tracked them to a home on Tillicum Road in Saanich.

Insp. Brian Fox said officers arrested the pair on April 10 then executed search warrants at the home and two vehicles, turning up roughly $250,000 worth of drugs and a semi-automatic handgun with ammunition.

“One-and-half kilograms of cocaine along with 1.1 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 300 grams of heroin were seized along with $6,500 in cash,” Fox told reporters Thursday.

The gun and some of the drugs were found in a hidden compartment in one of the vehicles, according to police.

Fox described Younus and Wadsworth as “upper-level distributors,” and the former has been linked to both the Alkahlil crime group and the Independent Soldiers Gang.

“He is actively involved in the current gang conflict in British Columbia and has close ties to a number of organized crime groups,” Fox said.

In 2010, Younus was seriously injured in a targeted shooting in Richmond.

Both he and Wadsworth are facing charges of possessing a prohibited firearm with ammunition, possessing a firearm contrary to a court order, owning or operating a vehicle with a hidden compartment, and five counts of drug possession with the purpose of trafficking.