A Nanaimo man has been charged with one count of possession of illegal substances for trafficking after he was involved in a rollover accident earlier this year.
Nanaimo RCMP said they were called to the intersection of Estevan Road and Departure Bay Road around 7:45 p.m. on April 16 for reports of a rollover crash.
Mounties said many witnesses called police to report the crash and said the driver of the vehicle crawled out of the crashed car and fled the area on foot.
While police were on the road, Mountis said several witnesses continued to provide real-time updates on the driver’s location, which led to his arrest minutes later in the Brooks Landing Mall parking lot.
“Initially, officers detained the driver for driving with an alcohol-related injury, but their focus quickly shifted after they noted that he was literally holding two bricks of suspected cocaine in his hands,” Nanaimo told RCMP in a statement Tuesday.
Mountis says the two cocaine bricks weigh a total of about two kilograms.
The driver, 43-year-old Nicholas Harris, was arrested and released later that day with a court date set for June 10.
His vehicle, a newer Jaguar black convertible, was also seized by police at the time.
On Tuesday, Mountis said Harris appeared in court on June 10th when he was sworn in on a charge of possession for trafficking. His next date is scheduled for the end of August, police say.
“Officers who found the suspects were shocked to find the suspects with so many illegal drugs,” Const said. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP in a statement Tuesday.
“Officers would also like to express their sincere gratitude to passers-by who helped police by staying at the scene and providing real-time updates that allowed investigators to find the suspect quickly and efficiently before he could hide or destroy drugs. ,” he said.
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