RCMP warrant team involved in 30 arrests since April launch

The Saskatchewan RCMP’s new Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team (WEST) has been involved in the arrests of 30 wanted individuals since its launch in April.

RCMP Supt. Glenn Church shared some of the numbers in a media release Wednesday.

“Since the team became operational in April, 2022, RCMP WEST has targeted 46 subjects for arrest,” Church said. “RCMP WEST has concluded 34 investigations. Of those, RCMP WEST have arrested, or was involved in an assisting capacity, 30 subjects.”

WEST, which operates out of Meadow Lake, Prince Albert and Saskatoon, currently has 12 active investigations.

On Dec. 13, officers with WEST arrested a 25-year-old man in Saskatoon who was declared unlawfully at large after his statutory release from a sentence stemming from multiple firearms charges, the RCMP said.

Acting on a tip that the wanted man was in Saskatoon, the RCMP said WEST officers tracked him down to an apartment in the city. When officers recognized him at the door, the suspect tried to flee through a window, the RCMP said, but he was arrested following a foot chase through nearby yards.

He’s now facing new charges of failing to comply with a release order, resisting arrest, and assaulting a peace officer, the RCMP noted.

Church credited the Saskatoon police for helping with the case.

“Collaborations like this are key to addressing criminal threats that cross community borders and police jurisdictions to avoid apprehensions,” Church said.