Photos courtesy ALERT

By Erika Rolling

ALERT ICE

Five people facing child exploitation charges in Grande Prairie

Dec 7, 2023 | 10:24 AM

The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team has charged five people after an investigation into child exploitation in Grande Prairie.

ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) made the arrests as part of Operation ICE Tundra.

Operation ICE Tundra started in October after investigators noticed an uptick in cases from Grande Prairie. ALERT’s ICE receives cases from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Center.

The ICE Tundra team did seven searches in the city, with help from the Grande Prairie RCMP between November 27 and 30.

The investigations were all independent of one another but shared the common thread of people uploading and accessing child sexual abuse content over the internet.

Forensic technicians were on site in the ICE Mobile Evidence Recovery Technology Lab during search warrants to search seized electronic devices and computers rapidly.

Investigation for full forensic analysis is ongoing, which may lead to more individuals being charged and arrested, or identifying more potential victims.

As of December 7, the following five individuals have been charged with access, possession, and transmitting child pornography as a part of Operation ICE Tundra:

• Christopher Nanemahoo, 34 years old;
• Patrick L’Hirondelle, 29 years old;
• Stuart Kuechle, 36 years old;
• Naitram Ramnarane, 56 years old;
• Dwayne Dyer, 46-years old.

Dyer has also been charged with firearms-related offenses, as three firearms inside his home were unsafely stored.

It is believed the suspects are not known to one another and the investigations do not appear to be connected.