An 18-year veteran Winnipeg police officer, who used to work in the street crime unit, has been arrested and accused of trafficking drugs.

After a year-long investigation, police arrested and charged Const. Trent Milan, 42, on Wednesday.

"This is a dark chapter for the Winnipeg Police Service," Deputy Chief Danny Smyth told reporters on Friday, adding there is no indication any other members of the service are involved.

"I can tell you, during the course of this investigation, my emotions have run from disbelief to anger to disappointment to resolve and now here today, to actually some relief that we have brought this member essentially to justice now."

The drugs Milan is alleged to have had in his possession, for the purpose of trafficking, include cocaine, meth, ecstasy, percocet and marijuana. It is also alleged that Milan shared police information with members of the public, which is contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.

In total, he is facing 34 charges, which include:

15 counts of possessing a prohibited weapon.

Breach of trust.

Attempt to obstruct justice.

Theft.

Court documents say Milan was allegedly in possession of stolen jewelry, with a value exceeding $5,000. He was also allegedly in possession of brass knuckles, a centrifugal force knife, butterfly knife, switchblade, bear spray and an eight ball.

Smyth believes more charges will come as the investigation continues.

Milan was most recently working as a general patrol officer in the city's West District. The investigation traced the conduct as far back as 2010, Smyth said.

Milan has been removed from active duty and, after being released from custody, is on administrative leave. He is scheduled to be in court in early November.

A Winnipeg police officer with 18-years on the force has been slapped with 34 criminal charges. Officer Trent Milan faces are possession of goods obtained by crime, possing meth and cocaine and prohibited weapons. 2:26 In keeping with Winnipeg police regulations, Milan's employment status will be reviewed by the chief of police once the investigation has been completed, Smyth said.

Smyth said he became aware in September 2014 of "some irregularities" around the handling of property, drugs and cash and police information. He assigned the professional standards unit to investigate, which led to Milan's arrest.

"​They … methodically tracked Milan's conduct and gathered evidence against him," Smyth said.

"I also want to say to the people we serve that incidents like this are rare. We hope the public understands the actions of one member does not represent our commitment to the community. The Winnipeg Police Service does not tolerate this kind of conduct."

The Winnipeg Police Association (WPA), which represents police officers, was at the press conference.

"It is shock and disbelief, " said Maurice Sabourin, president of the WPA. "There's many members that have worked with Constable Milan and I can tell you that people are in disbelief. That they do not believe that this individual is capable of those types of offences.

"The thing I would like to get across to the citizens of Winnipeg is that you shouldn't lose any confidence in the Winnipeg Police Service because our members are committed to protecting and serving the citizens of Winnipeg."

The Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba is urging its members to look at any cases where Milan may have been involved and called the allegations "concerning."

"My first thought was how this might affect on going cases that are before the courts in Manitoba," said association spokesperson Scott Newman.

"They're (association members) going to want to know if the things that were collected were affected in any way. If the exhibits collected were affected by this officer. Whether or not drugs or the money or other illicit items that were seized are still where they're supposed to be and can still be accounted for. If it's claimed that he found half an ounce of cocaine and they go back and look and there's no cocaine, they're going to have to drop the charges in my view against the clients because they don't have the evidence."

The Independent Investigations Unit (IIU), which investigates all serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba, whether occurring on or off duty, was informed early on about the investigation and has been monitoring it.