By Sheena Roszell

Local man charged after cocaine distribution network dismantled

Aug 30, 2018 | 10:18 AM

A Grande Prairie man among 10 people charged in an Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) year-long investigation called Project Entry.  

Project Entry began in March 2017 after information was received about the role of alleged outlaw bikers in drug trafficking and this July a number of arrests were made.

ALERT and RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime have dismantled an extensive cocaine distribution network and say it was linked to a member of the Hells Angels and support club members and that it impacted the communities of Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Spruce Grove, Cold Lake, and Whitecourt.

Project Entry resulted in the seizure of five kilograms of cocaine, half a kilogram of the buffing agent Phenacetin, cannabis resin, and a handgun. Multiple vehicles and motorcycles were seized, along with $13,000 cash proceeds of crime.

Between July 25 and 30, 2018 multiple arrests were made, and 10 people were charged with 45 criminal offences.

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According to ALERT, the man at the centre of the operation was Hells Angels Westridge (Edmonton) member 47-year-old William McCabe of Spruce Grove, who investigators say oversaw cocaine operations and facilitated distribution through various communities. 

Two support members were also identified. Investigators say Shane Daly and Pascal Jacques, are members of the Dirty Few Lakeland chapter. These Support clubs are typically utilized to carry out lower-level dirty work for the Hells Angels, such as drug trafficking and expanding territory to secondary markets.

The full list of people arrested includes:

William McCabe, a 47-year-old man from Spruce Grove;
Shane Daly, a 39-year-old man from Spruce Grove;
Joseph Collicutt, a 32-year-old man from Grande Prairie;
Pascal Jaques, a 40-year-old man from Cold Lake;
Theresa Acker, a 42-year-old woman from Spruce Grove;
Anton Petrowitz, a 36-year-old man from Calgary;
Clinton Thomas, a 33-year-old man from Parkland County;
Nicholas Stovell, a 38-year-old man from Cold Lake;
Nicholas Delibasic, a 46-year-old man from Cold Lake; and
Larissa Ausmus, a 31-year-old woman from Spruce Grove.

ALERT believes this is the first time in Alberta that a member of the Hells Angels has been charged with constructing a criminal organization. 

LIVE NOW: ALERT media conference with details of Project Entry, a year-long cocaine trafficking investigation. #yeg https://t.co/V5nnaJuSXx

— ALERT (@ALERT_AB) August 30, 2018