While the laws they enforce and the methods they use might differ, law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have the same goal: To catch the bad guys.
That shared goal is a big reason why Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have developed a great working relationship since ALERT was founded in 2006. Through the DEA’s office in Vancouver, the two agencies have worked together on a number of files with successful outcomes.
The most recent of those files was Project Coyote, which wrapped up in November 2019 and set multiple records for ALERT. In total, almost $20 million worth of drugs and assets were seized, including 250,000 fentanyl pills — believed to be the largest fentanyl seizure in Canadian history — 98 kilograms of cocaine, five kilograms of methamphetamine, 13 firearms and $1.3 million in cash proceeds of crime.
“I wasn’t expecting how easy the relationship would be,” said Det. Laird Linklater with ALERT’s Calgary organized crime team, who was the primary investigator on Project Coyote. “The DEA in Vancouver was willing to help out in any which way they could. From information requests to surveillance, they bent over backwards to help out.”
Meanwhile, the DEA says it’s very satisfying to see the results of a cooperative effort like Project Coyote, and that kind of success only encourages further cooperation.
“The relationship between DEA and ALERT as successful and growing,” said a DEA spokesperson in an emailed statement. “The collaboration between DEA and ALERT on Project Coyote is a great example of how our two agencies can be successful when working together.”
The seizure of 250,000 fentanyl pills from a Calgary apartment in February 2018 kicked Project Coyote into high gear, and more than 30 search warrants were executed over the next 20 months. But when targets start booking travel into the United States, Linklater knew he had to call in some help.
“We needed to figure what the nature of those trips were, so that’s when we started reaching out to the DEA asking for surveillance resources to determine what the target was up to,” he said.
Through a contact with the DEA’s Vancouver office, Linklater was able to make requests for information and assistance that were fulfilled quickly and efficiently. This came in extremely handy when ALERT got information that a Calgary woman was travelling to Houston, Texas, to pick up an 81-kilogram shipment of cocaine and bring it back to Canada. She was intercepted and arrested by ALERT, the DEA and the Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office.
“I believe we have a good working relationship, and hopefully we’ll be able to build on it and target the people who are bringing drugs into the country,” Linklater said.
That relationship has been built not only on the back of Project Coyote, but other collaborative efforts over the years. The DEA also assisted ALERT with Project Arbour in 2017 and 2018, which involved the seizure of 100 kilograms of methamphetamine near Provo, Utah, and with the dismantling of a cocaine trafficking network in Alberta following the 2012 seizure of 45 kilograms of cocaine in Nevada that were bound for Calgary.
ALERT assisted the DEA in investigating and extraditing two men from Lethbridge to Colorado in 2015, where they were wanted on drug charges.
While organized crime has never respected borders, the spokesperson added that, in recent years, technology has thrown up new hurdles in law enforcement’s efforts to dismantle international criminal organizations.
“The use of cryptocurrency and encrypted cellphone apps have presented challenges in investigating those international organized crime groups,” he said. “The emergence of this new technology makes the working relationships between DEA and its foreign counterparts all the more important.”
Linklater said that, in his time working at ALERT, he and his colleagues have become more aware of and gained more experience with international cases, making it more feasible to leverage international partnerships and see those cases through to a conclusion.
“As ALERT matures and we gain more experience, we’re able to go after higher targets who are in control and orchestrating the transporting of shipments or the importation of drugs and money,” he said.
The work we do is about our communities, and that’s why we recognize that residents can be instrumental in tackling serious crime. If you or someone you know has been the victim of a crime, or you suspect criminal activity, please reach out. Your information will remain strictly confidential.
Thank you for helping to make Alberta safer by being actively involved and reporting suspicious activity.
Since 2022, CISA has been guided by four pillars that focus the effort to promote an integrated, intelligence-led approach to combating organized crime; these are:
Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta (CISA) has recently developed an Alberta Firearms Intelligence Centre (AFIC) to equitably expand access to firearms intelligence for all law enforcement agencies within Alberta. AFIC will provide timely, accurate, and actionable intelligence to law enforcement agencies and policy-makers to achieve the shared and collaborative goals of increasing public safety concerning firearm-related crimes.
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
FILE INTAKES
680
872
1,149
1,114
3,815
2,994
2,764
SUSPECTS CHARGED
22
16
34
37
109
81
125
CHARGES LAID
87
45
123
160
415
351
413
CHILDREN RESCUED
26
78
56
43
203
46
100
EXHIBITS SEIZED
335
368
545
476
1,724
1,243
1,845
TOTAL PHOTOS/VIDEOS
262,400
511,133
1,374,310
606,254
2,754,097
2,551,921
13,260,819
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
SUSPECTS CHARGED
13
10
7
4
34
30
76
CHARGES LAID
79
46
87
19
231
96
157
VICTIM INTERVENTIONS
30
29
17
37
113
28
22
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
INTELLIGENCE REPORTS
409
296
327
442
1,474
1,560
1,318
TRAINING COURSES
5
3
8
11
27
36
25
CANDIDATES TRAINED
321
56
135
350
862
933
638
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
SUSPECTS CHARGED
40
27
42
32
141
197
168
CHARGES LAID
176
156
237
231
800
1,088
820
FIREARMS SEIZED
105
53
26
48
232
102
126
EST. VALUE OF DRUGS SEIZED
$906,814
$553,851
$2,725,161
$1,148,337
$5,334,163
$10,898,269
$334,093,020
PROCEEDS OF CRIME SEIZED
$218,133
$52,970
$130,996
$230,195
$632,294
$1,432,847
$21,740,617
ARRESTS
CHARGES
FIREARMS
DRUGS
PROCEEDS
CALGARY
24
110
14
$937,422
$65,881
EDMONTON
17
131
45
$592,839
$272,446
FORT MCMURRAY
8
78
4
$352,942
$144,301
GRANDE PRAIRIE
7
17
13
$192,145
$31,855
LETHBRIDGE
7
29
44
$349,773
$51,245
LLOYDMINSTER
24
93
41
$164,134
$12,504
MEDICINE HAT
37
179
13
$293,108
$7,861
RED DEER
17
163
58
$2,451,800
$46,201
TOTALS
141
800
232
$5,334,163
$632,294
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
SUSPECTS CHARGED
1
–
1
–
2
1
10
CHARGES LAID
–
–
–
–
–
11
47
STOLEN VEHICLES
23
15
1
6
45
245
118
RECOVERED ASSETS
$1,432,000
$941,025
$108,000
$260,000
$2,741025
$8,420,500
$3,919,500
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
FIREARMS EXAMINATIONS
349
351
243
235
1,178
–
–
EXHIBIT EXAMINATIONS
1,316
1,409
891
1,099
4,715
–
–
SERIAL NUMBER RESTORATIONS
31
34
19
24
108
–
–
IBIS SUBMISSIONS
343
421
1,334
304
2,402
–
–
GUN SEIZURES
–
–
1
14
15
–
–
SUSPECTS CHARGED
–
–
4
22
26
–
–
CHARGES LAID
–
–
41
144
185
–
–
Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) involves images and/or videos that depict the sexual abuse of minors – the majority of which involve prepubescent children. Often, CSAM involves explicit and/or extreme sexual assaults against the child victim (Cybertip.ca).
Learn more about Internet Child Exploitation and ALERT’s integrated teams combatting this issue.
Ghost Guns are illegal, privately manufactured firearms or lower receivers. These weapons are often made with 3D-printers, and undermine public safety due to their lack of licensing requirements, serialization and safety controls.
Learn more about Ghost Guns on ALERT’s dedicated Privately Manufactured Firearms info page