An Alberta man facing drug trafficking charges was granted bail after a show cause hearing in North Battleford Provincial Court Jan. 15.
Lowen Diehl, 36, will be released after he pays $10,000 cash bail and a $10,000 surety to the court. In addition, he must remain at his home in Alberta on 24-hour house arrest.
North Battleford RCMP arrested Diehl on Dec. 7, 2020, after they received a report from a concerned citizen about an erratic driver. Police located the SUV on Highway 16 and arrested Diehl.
When police searched the SUV they found a large amount of Canadian currency, about 15 kg of methamphetamine, about one kg of cocaine, a small amount of fentanyl, and one kg of an unidentified substance. Police say the methamphetamine equals about 150,000 individual doses and the cocaine equals about 1,000 individual doses.
Insp. Tom Beck, the Officer in Charge of North Battleford RCMP Detachment, applauded the diligence of both the members of the public who contacted them and the police officers responding to the call.
“To be blunt, 150,000 doses is a large quantity of drugs to take off the street and keep out of the hands of some 150,000 potential people,” he said.
“Police officers see first-hand the impacts of drug use. We also know drugs are often laced with other harmful substances that can result in tragedy. One of the things we can do to prevent these tragedies and other ripple effects from occurring, is to stem the flow of these substances before they trickle into our Saskatchewan communities and beyond. The seizure of this quantity of methamphetamine will certainly have a significant, resounding impact.”
Diehl is scheduled to appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on Jan. 19 on other matters and on Feb. 11 in North Battleford Provincial Court on the Saskatchewan charges.
The charges against Diehl haven’t been proven in court.
