RCMP Roving Traffic Units (RTUs) seized an astounding 181 kilograms of marijuana from Alberta highways over the past four months.

The mountain of drugs was on display — along with weapons, cash and a slew of nearly every other drug imaginable — at Edmonton K-Division Tuesday, the skunky smell of marijuana filling the air.

“There’s everything there from marijuana, GHB. We’ve got mushrooms, we’ve got coke, we’ve got crack, we’ve got heroin. This all came off the highways,” said Supt. Howard Eaton of RCMP K-Division traffic services, as he stood in front of tables of the seized goods — some of which has links to organized crime.

“This has been a good four months, but we have had times like this before. When you think about the volume of vehicles going through Alberta, we’re probably getting a small percentage of what’s actually moving through it.”

About 190 RCMP traffic service members regularly patrol Alberta’s highways for anyone breaking the law. The RTUs are specially trained to look beyond traffic violations and work with drug sniffing dogs to find illegal goods.

When the officer decides something isn’t quite right, the dog comes out and walks around the vehicle. If he sits, there’s dope inside.

Eaton said the amount of contraband seized during the last four months is significant. The marijuana alone equates to more than 700,000 joints — the largest marijuana seizure was 118 pounds in February on Highway 16. There’s also 5,000 hits of oxycontin, 9,000 hits of cocaine and nearly $500,000 in cash.

What’s most alarming, said Eaton, is the 70,000 hits of GHB (date rape drug).

“That’s pretty unusual,” said Eaton, who is also stressing the fact that firearms were seized. “They’re carrying large quantities of dope or cash and they’re armed.”

The bulk of the seizures occurred around Lake Louise, while a few were near Jasper, Olds and Strathmore. The 28 offenders — 25 of which are men — were from B.C. and Alberta.

Many of the contraband items were found in vehicles with specialized hidden compartments. Others, said Eaton, had the stuff laid out to use while they are driving.

And not all of the interceptions result in items that can be put on display.

“The drugs make a nice big mountain, but there’s lots of criminality that we intercept that isn’t just drugs at the end of the day,” said RCMP Const. Ryan Frost, an officer with one of the traffic units.

“We’ve had lost people with dementia that we’ve intercepted on the highway and been able to return to their families, we’ve had children at risk that were actually being sexually exploited that we’ve been able to return to their families. There’s more than just the green and the powder that we’re helping to make our road safe.”

pamela.roth@sunmedia.ca

@SUNpamelaroth