Canadian police bust drug gang

CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and local police in Calgary, Alberta, reported arresting 14 alleged members of a drug-based gang on more than 100 charges.

A yearlong joint investigation led to the arrests announced Wednesday, the Calgary Sun reported.

Police said the operation that involved at least 25 search warrants resulted in the seizure of four houses worth a total of $2 million, $50,000 worth of jewelry, 10 vehicles, a flak jacket with a bullet lodged in it, 36.3 pounds of cocaine worth almost $2 million, marijuana, Ecstasy tablets and hallucinogenic mushrooms, the report said.

Despite the police jubilation, Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said it was merely a dent in the city's gang problems.

"This is a huge success ... however, our work is not done and we are not naive enough to think we have dismantled the entire gang," Schiavetta said. "These individuals belong to a cell in one of the most violent gangs in this city."